Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Initial Validation of the Virtual Reality Stroop Task (Vrst) in a Sample of Oef/oif Veterans

Currently, neuropsychologists rely on assessment instruments rooted in century old theory and technology to make evaluations of military personnel’s readiness to return-to-duty or return to their community. The present study sought to explore an alternative by evaluating the validity of a neuropsychological assessment presented within a virtual reality platform. The integration of a neuropsychological assessment into a cognitively and emotionally demanding virtual environment – reminiscent of a combat experience in Iraq – offers a more ecologically valid manner in which to evaluate the cognitive skills required in theater. U.S. military veterans’ (N = 50) performance on the Virtual Reality Stroop Task (VRST) was compared with performance on a paper-and-pencil, a computer adapted version of the Stroop task, and the subtests included in the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics-4 (ANAM4) TBI-MIL test battery. Results supported the validity of the VRST, indicating it demonstrates the typical Stroop effect pattern. The emotional salience of the VRST resulted in slowed reaction time compared to the ANAM Stroop. Further, the complex interference condition of the VRST offers opportunities for evaluation of exogenous and endogenous attentional processing. In the evaluation of threat, participants were noted to perform more accurately and more quickly in low threat versus high threat zones. Ancillary inquiries found no clinically meaningful findings regarding the role of deployment or post-concussive symptoms, and mixed findings regarding the effect of posttraumatic stress symptoms on neuropsychological performance among the three tested modalities.
State of the Art in Example-based Texture Synthesis

Recent years have witnessed significant progress in example-based texture synthesis algorithms. Given an example texture, these methods produce a larger texture that is tailored to the user's needs. In this state-of-the-art report, we aim to achieve three goals: (1) provide a tutorial that is easy to follow for readers who are not already familiar with the subject, (2) make a comprehensive survey and comparisons of different methods, and (3) sketch a vision for future work that can help motivate and guide readers that are interested in texture synthesis research. We cover fundamental algorithms as well as extensions and applications of texture synthesis.
Evaluation of culture, immunofluorescence, and serology for the diagnosis of pertussis

Nasopharyngeal culture, direct immunofluorescence, and serology of acute-phase and paired serum specimens were compared for the laboratory diagnosis of infections due to Bordetella pertussis in a community-based pediatric population with both high vaccine usage and high pertussis incidence. In 77 (37%) of 210 patients evaluated, one or more tests were positive for pertussis. A clinical illness compatible with pertussis was present in 52 (71%) of 73 pertussis test-positive and 42 (35%) of 119 test-negative patients (P less than 0.001). Nasopharyngeal culture was of low sensitivity (20 [26%] of 77 positive tests) but was most commonly confirmed by another positive pertussis test (85%). Direct immunofluorescence was both insensitive and nonspecific; only 6 (30%) of 20 cases positive by culture were positive by immunofluorescence, and only 4 (33%) of 12 of the culture-negative, immunofluorescence-positive cases could be confirmed by another positive pertussis test. Although serology by enzyme immunoassay proved to be the most sensitive of the laboratory tests (87%), this sensitivity could be achieved only by assaying both acute-phase and paired serum specimens and measuring immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgA, and IgM antibodies to two pertussis antigens (pertussis toxin and filamentous hemagglutinin). Loss of sensitivity occurred with any reduction in the number of these serologic assays performed. Optimal laboratory diagnosis of endemic pertussis in a pediatric population requires both nasopharyngeal culture and serology by enzyme immunoassay.
A new RSA encryption architecture and hardware implementation based on optimized Montgomery multiplication

RSA is a widely acceptable and well used algorithm in many security applications. Its main mathematical function is the demanding, in terms of speed, operation of modular exponentiation. In this paper a systolic, scalable, redundant carry-save modular multiplier and an RSA encryption architecture are proposed using the Montgomery modular multiplication algorithm. By completely avoiding the transformations from redundant to non-redundant numbers at the intermediate stages of the architectures, the need for addition is eliminated and very interesting results, in terms of clock frequency, throughput and chip covered area, are achieved.
In-Vitro Pulsatile Flow Measurement in Prosthetic Heart Valves: An Inter-Laboratory Comparison.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF STUDY One of the first steps in qualifying a new prosthetic valve for eventual clinical use is preclinical flow performance testing in vitro. Such testing is typically performed in an in-vitro test system that simulates the pumping mechanics of the left ventricle of the heart, generally referred to as a pulse duplicator or duplicator. Historically, test results in these systems have varied from duplicator to duplicator. This collaborative effort between heart valve manufacturers and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was designed to evaluate the variability of the pulse duplicator test technology for pulsatile flow performance measurement in an interlaboratory round robin. METHODS The participants jointly developed and followed a limited test protocol based on accepted methods outlined in the International Standards Organization 5840: Cardiovascular Implants - Cardiac Valve Prostheses, and in the FDA Replacement Heart Valve Guidance. One 25 mm valve, each of four basic designs, was circulated to test centers which included four manufacturers and two FDA duplicators. The pressure drop and regurgitation data were then collected and summarized by the FDA. RESULTS Considerable variation was observed in hydrodynamic performance measures of pressure drop across the valve and back flow leakage through the valve among the different duplicators. Despite the variations seen in these measures, the results from all centers showed that the valves conformed to certain minimum performance criteria. CONCLUSIONS Despite the fact that the valves would have been judged to have met Minimum Performance Requirements of effective orifice area and regurgitant fraction, as specified in the international standard, variations in measurements existed among duplicators. Valve manufacturers should use a reference valve of similar design in hydrodynamic performance testing to assess the individual measurement conditions in the duplicator.
A new framework for the computation of Hessians

We investigate the computation of Hessian matrices via Automatic Differentiation, using a graph model and an algebraic model. The graph model reveals the inherent symmetries involved in calculating the Hessian. The algebraic model, based on Griewank and Walther's [Evaluating derivatives, in Principles and Techniques of Algorithmic Differentiation, 2nd ed., Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), Philadelphia, PA, 2008] state transformations synthesizes the calculation of the Hessian as a formula. These dual points of view, graphical and algebraic, lead to a new framework for Hessian computation. This is illustrated by developing edge_pushing, a new truly reverse Hessian computation algorithm that fully exploits the Hessian's symmetry. Computational experiments compare the performance of edge_pushing on 16 functions from the CUTE collection [I. Bongartz et al. Cute: constrained and unconstrained testing environment, ACM Trans. Math. Softw. 21(1) (1995), pp. 123–160] against two algorithms available as drivers of the software ADOL-C [A. Griewank et al. ADOL-C: A package for the automatic differentiation of algorithms written in C/C++, Technical report, Institute of Scientific Computing, Technical University Dresden, 1999. Updated version of the paper published in ACM Trans. Math. Softw. 22, 1996, pp. 131–167; A. Walther, Computing sparse Hessians with automatic differentiation, ACM Trans. Math. Softw. 34(1) (2008), pp. 1–15; A.H. Gebremedhin et al. Efficient computation of sparse Hessians using coloring and automatic differentiation, INFORMS J. Comput. 21(2) (2009), pp. 209–223], and the results are very promising.
PRECEPTIONS OF INSTITUTIONAL AND INSTRUCTOR BASED TECHNIQUES FOR DEALING WITH ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

1 Donald D. Carpenter, Lawrence Technological University, 21000 W. Ten Mile Rd, Southfield, MI 48075 carpenter@ltu.edu 2 Trevor S. Harding, Kettering University, tharding@kettering.edu 3 Susan M. Montgomery, University of Michigan, smontgom@engin.umich.edu 4 Nicholas Steneck, University of Michigan, nsteneck@umich.edu 5 Eric Dey, University of Michigan, dey@umich.edu Abstract Research suggests that a large percentage of engineering students engage in some form of academic dishonesty. To investigate this very serious concern, the authors have undertaken a research project on the Perceptions and Attitudes toward Cheating among Engineering Students (P.A.C.E.S.). The premise of this research is that a combination of pressures, rather than malicious motivations, account for most student cheating. This paper will focus on a portion of the P.A. C.E. S. survey; student opinions on what actions might prevent cheating. The authors examined data collected from approximately 350 engineering and pre-engineering undergraduate students at 5 institutions. In the survey, the students were presented with 23 institutional and instructor based actions and asked to comment on whether such actions would prevent them from cheating if they might have been inclined to cheat under other circumstances. Student responses to those actions along with subsequent statistical analysis are reported. Practical implementations of several studentidentified techniques are then discussed.
**volume Title** Asp Conference Series, Vol. **volume Number** **author** a Gpu-based Survey for Millisecond Radio Transients Using Artemis

Astrophysical radio transients are excellent probes of extreme physical processes originating from compact sources within our Galaxy and beyond. Radio frequency signals emitted from these objects provide a means to study the intervening medium through which they travel. Next generation radio telescopes are designed to explore the vast unexplored parameter space of high time resolution astronomy, but require High Performance Computing (HPC) solutions to process the enormous volumes of data that are produced by these telescopes. We have developed a combined soft-ware/hardware solution (code named ARTEMIS) for real-time searches for millisecond radio transients, which uses GPU technology to remove interstellar dispersion and detect millisecond radio bursts from astronomical sources in real-time. Here we present an introduction to ARTEMIS. We give a brief overview of the software pipeline, then focus specifically on the intricacies of performing incoherent de-dispersion. We present results from two brute-force algorithms. The first is a GPU based algorithm, designed to exploit the L1 cache of the NVIDIA Fermi GPU. Our second algorithm is CPU based and exploits the new AVX units in Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs.
Biology of megakaryocytes.

The events that occur during the terminal maturation of human megakaryocyte& are poorly characterized. To examine these events, a recently characterized human megakaryocytic cell line (EST-IU, Cancer Res. 46: 2155-2159, 1986) was exposed to 12-0-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-ace ts te (TPA), as well as 2 nontransforming phorbol esters (4 alpha phorbol and 4 bets phorbol 12 alpha, 13 alpha diace ts te) at the identical concentrations. Morphologic changes, including cellular attachment to untreated plastic or glass, occurred within 4 hrs of treatment with TPA. Treatment of EST-IU cells with e1 ther of the 2 non-transforming phorbols (4-alpha phorbol, or 4-be ts phorbol, 12-be ts, 13-alpha diace ts te) failed to change morphology, DNA content, or expression of surface membrane glycoproteins or alpha-granule constituents when compared to control cells. TPA treatment resulted, however, in . fOfound changes in adherence to plastic by the EST-IU cells, with an obvious dose-response relationship. At a 5 X 10 M TPA, cellular attachment was noted as early as 4 hours following treatment, ! gd was complete by 16 hours, at which time > 95% of treated cells were attached. Following TPA treatment at 5 X 10 M, a number of morphologic changes occurred, including marked cellular flattening, the appearance of extensive cytoplasmic budding, and the development of numerous filopodia. Cells treated with either of the non-transforming phorbols as assessed by propidium iodide staining and flow cytometric analysis failed to exhibit a crenge in ploidy, although TPA reproducibly altered this parameter of megakaryocyte development. Cells treated with 10-~ TPA have -'lfproxima tely the same proportion of cells in the 4N and 8N peaks as control cells. Following exposure to 10 M and 10 M TPA, there was an apparent shift of cells out of the 4N peak to 8N and 16N levels, and even the appearance of a small percentage of 32N cells. The DNA content of TPA-tres ted cells was also assessed by Feulgen staining and microdensitometry. Those cells (5%) which failed to adhere following TPA treatment were analyzed separately, and showed a very different ploidy distribution than the adherent cell population. Over 85% of adherent cells have a ploidy > 16N, with some cells attaining the 128N level. Treatment of cells with either of the 2 non-transforming phorbols failed to affect the expression of ~ftctor V, Factor VIII:RAg, beta-thromboglobulin, fibrinogen, or platelet glycoproteins. Cells treated with 5 X 10 M TPA similarly do not significantly increse the expression of Factor V, fibrinogen, or beta-thromoglobulin over that observed in control cells. The expression of both Factor VIII:RAg and platelet glycoproteins however, increase in TPA-trested cells. A similar increase in the expression of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIA using the mouse monoclonal C 7 was also observed. Those cells ths t express the highest levels of Factor VIII:RAg and platelet glycoprotelns following phorbol treatment also demonstrated the highest ploidy levels and also are the largest cells as measured by forward angle light scatter during flow cytometry.
The Era of Ineluctability? Post-Apartheid South Africa After 20 Years of Democratic Elections

Electoral research in post-apartheid South Africa was initially dominated by those advocating a variously racial-cum-ethnic census approach, later challenged by analysts who argued for less race-reductionist models of understanding voting behaviour. The core of the ‘racial census’ approach was to question the possibility of democracy finding genuine purchase where victory for the party of liberation was assured because black majoritarianism was blind to corruption, ineptitude or worse, and open only to race. The innate pessimism about South African democracy, which this perspective introduced, has deepened, notably after the recall of President Mbeki and the subsequent installation of President Zuma. After 20 years of democracy, many commentators have written off the ruling African National Congress (ANC) as corrupt, inept, authoritarian and set on a path of decline that will drag South Africa inexorably towards becoming ‘the next Zimbabwe’. This was the core narrative that informed attacks on the ANC by opposition parties in the election of May 2014. However, a more nuanced set of arguments is emerging, which asserts that the ANC, and South Africa, are not on an ineluctable path to collapse and failure. This article analyses these competing narratives, and the archetypes from which they derive. However, it argues that a deeper, more complex challenge is facing South African democracy. Using empirical voter behaviour data, generated, inter alia, via commingling census and official voting-district-level data on registration and turn-out, the article shows that voting-age people from the poorest deciles have stopped registering and/or voting in significant and growing numbers since 2004, that the electorate increasingly comprises the better-off, and suggests that these trends should be focal areas for those concerned with South African democracy: political pluralism at the expense of the poor seems to be a very high price to pay.
Ethnic Differences Among Assistant, Associate, and Full Professors at Texas 4-Year Universities

Examined in this study was the change in Black and Hispanic faculty employment at the Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor levels at 4-year universities ( n = 36/39 universities) in Texas for the years 2003 and 2009. The number and percent of Black and Hispanic faculty members increased at all three levels of employment between the years 2003 and 2009. Although statistically significant increases were present at all levels except for Black Full Professors, the effect sizes reflected trivial increases. The rapid ethnic diversification of the student population at institutions of higher education in Texas has not been mirrored in its faculty.
How the brain integrates costs and benefits during decision making

When we make decisions, the benefits of an option often need to be weighed against accompanying costs. Little is known, however, about the neural systems underlying such cost–benefit computations. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and choice modeling, we show that decision making based on cost–benefit comparison can be explained as a stochastic accumulation of cost–benefit difference. Model-driven functional MRI shows that ventromedial and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compare costs and benefits by computing the difference between neural signatures of anticipated benefits and costs from the ventral striatum and amygdala, respectively. Moreover, changes in blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal in the bilateral middle intraparietal sulcus reflect the accumulation of the difference signal from ventromedial prefrontal cortex. In sum, we show that a neurophysiological mechanism previously established for perceptual decision making, that is, the difference-based accumulation of evidence, is fundamental also in value-based decisions. The brain, thus, weighs costs against benefits by combining neural benefit and cost signals into a single, difference-based neural representation of net value, which is accumulated over time until the individual decides to accept or reject an option.
Inter-rater reliability and face validity of the Executive Function Performance Test (EFPT)

Introduction Occupational therapists need an instrument to assess executive dysfunctions before patients are discharged from acute wards. The Executive Function Performance Test (EFPT) appears to be suitable, since it evaluates dysfunctions in complex activities. The aim of this study was to translate the EFPT from English into Swedish and to evaluate its properties when used with older persons with mild stroke in an acute setting. Method The study consisted of three parts: (1) a translation procedure using a forward and backward method; (2) evaluation of face validity; (3) inter-rater reliability by four raters (two pairs) who made 34 assessments in 17 older patients with mild stroke in an acute ward. Results The inter-rater reliability for the EFPT was good. The median was 88% of the percentage agreement. No occasional disagreement was found between the raters, but there was a systematic disagreement in one out of 20 items. The translation and face validity process resulted in further clarification of the semantic and cultural equivalence of the EFPT, and the manual was changed accordingly. Conclusion This study showed that inter-rater reliability was good and that the EFPT was found to be an interesting assessment, although further research is needed.
Knowledge and Intellectual Virtue

An intellectual virtue is a quality bound to help maximize one's surplus of truth over error; or so let us assume for now, though a more just conception may include as desiderata also generality, coherence, and explanatory power, unless the value of these is itself explained as derivative from the character of their contribution precisely to one's surplus of truth over error. This last is an issue I mention in order to lay it aside. Here we assume only a teleological conception of intellectual virtue, the relevant end being a proper relation to the truth, exact requirements of such propriety not here fully specified. Whatever exactly the end may be, the virtue of a virtue derives not simply from leading us to it, perhaps accidentally, but from leading us to it reliably: e.g., “in a way bound to maximize one's surplus of truth over error. ” Rationalist intuition and deduction are thus prime candidates, since they would always lead us aright. But it is not so clearly virtuous to admit no other faculties, seeing the narrow limits beyond which intuition and deduction will never lead us. What other faculties might one admit? There are faculties of two broad sorts: those that lead to beliefs from beliefs already formed, and those that lead to beliefs but not from beliefs.
Linking Student Achievement Growth to Professional Development Participation and Changes in Instruction: A Longitudinal Study of Elementary Students and Teachers in Title I Schools

Most reforms in elementary education rely on teacher learning and improved instruction to increase student learning. This study increases our understanding of which types of professional development effectively change teaching practice in ways that boost student achievement. Our three-year longitudinal analysis answers two main research questions: (1) To what extent do teachers’ topic coverage, emphasis on memorization and solving novel problems, and time spent on mathematics instruction, predict student mathematics achievement growth? (2) To what extent does teacher participation in content-focused professional development predict the aspects of instruction found in our first analysis to be related to increases in student mathematics achievement growth? This study uses data collected by the U.S. Department of Education for the Longitudinal Evaluation of School Change and Performance (LESCP) in 1997, 1998, and 1999. The LESCP drew its sample from 71 high-poverty schools in 18 school districts in 7 states. Our student-level analyses include 7,588 observations over three years of 4,803 students assigned to 457 teachers. Teacher-level analyses include the same 457 teachers in 71 schools over three years. This is a quasi-experimental longitudinal study. To answer our first research question, we employ a 4-level cross-classified growth model using MLwiN software, with time points nested within students, students cross-classified by teachers over the three years of the study, and teachers and students nested within schools. To answer our second question, we employ a series of hierarchical linear models (HLM) to test the relationship between instruction and professional development. We found that (1) when teachers in third, fourth, and fifth grade focused more on advanced mathematics topics (defined as operations with fractions, distance problems, solving equations with one unknown, solving two equations with two unknowns, and statistics) and emphasized solving novel problems, student achievement grew more quickly; (2) when teachers focused more on basic topics (defined as measurement, rounding, multi-digit multiplication, and problem solving) and emphasized memorizing facts, student achievement grew more slowly; and (3) when teachers participated in professional development that focused on math content or instructional strategies in mathematics (in Year 1), they were more likely to teach in ways associated with student achievement growth. Specifically, they were more likely to teach advanced topics and emphasize solving novel problems. Effect sizes ranged from 1% to 15% of a standard deviation.