Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applying Depression-Distortion Hypotheses to the Assessment of Peer Victimization in Adolescents

This study examined whether adolescents' depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior were associated with discrepancies between self- and peer-reports of peer victimization experiences. A sample of 203 10th-grade adolescents completed self-report measures of victimization and depressive symptoms as well as peer nominations of victimization and aggression. Residual scores were computed as a measure of discordance between peer- and self-reported peer victimization. Adolescents' aggressive behavior was associated with underestimations of peer victimization on self-reported measures, as compared to peer-reports, whereas depressive symptoms were associated with overestimations of peer victimization on self-report, as compared to peer-reports. Different patterns of findings were revealed for different forms of victimization (overt, relational, reputational) and by gender. Findings have implications for studies of adolescent peer victimization using multiple reporters and suggest that adolescents with high levels of depressive symptoms may be vulnerable to misperceptions of their social experiences among peers.
Measuring Investors' Opinion Divergence

ABSTRACT Numerous proxies for divergence of investors' opinions have been suggested in the empirical accounting and finance literatures. I offer a new proxy constructed from proprietary limit order and market order data. This allows me to capture "additional" information on investors' "private" valuations. Proxies from the extant literature, based on publicly available data, do not contain such information. Given my new measure, I ask which of the extant proxies correlates best with it. In my regression analysis, unexplained volume is the best proxy for opinion divergence. Conditioning on various firm-specific and order-specific characteristics generally does not change this conclusion. The main exception is the sample of firms without IBES forecast dispersion data, for which bid-ask spread is the best proxy for opinion divergence. Factor analysis also suggests that unexplained volume is the preferred proxy for opinion divergence. Copyright (c), University of Chicago on behalf of the Accounting Research Center, 2009.
Comportamiento de elección de marca del consumidor: marcas nacionales vs. marcas de distribuidor Consumer brand choice behaviour: national brands vs. store brands

La competencia entre las marcas nacionales y las marcas propiedad del distribuidor, se ha convertido en uno de los principales aspectos analizados en la literatura de marketing centrada en los bienes de consumo masivo. El principal objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la posible existencia de diferencias en el comportamiento de eleccion del consumidor de cada tipo de marca. Con este objetivo, desarrollamos un analisis empirico a traves de modelos de eleccion logit multinomial a partir de datos de escaner de aceite de oliva. El analisis realizado pone de manifiesto la menor influencia que el precio y las herramientas promocionales como la utilizacion de folletos publicitarios, tienen sobre la probabilidad de eleccion de marcas nacionales que sobre las marcas propiedad del distribuidor. A partir de estos resultados extraemos conclusiones muy interesantes para la gestion empresarial, tanto de los fabricantes de marcas nacionales como del propio distribuidor.
The Aha! Moment

A sudden comprehension that solves a problem, reinterprets a situation, explains a joke, or resolves an ambiguous percept is called an insight (i.e., the “Aha! moment”). Psychologists have studied insight using behavioral methods for nearly a century. Recently, the tools of cognitive neuroscience have been applied to this phenomenon. A series of studies have used electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the neural correlates of the “Aha! moment” and its antecedents. Although the experience of insight is sudden and can seem disconnected from the immediately preceding thought, these studies show that insight is the culmination of a series of brain states and processes operating at different time scales. Elucidation of these precursors suggests interventional opportunities for the facilitation of insight.
Taking their skills with them: Seeking to find out whether eportfolio skills transfer from degree programs to the classroom

ePortfolios are being used in Higher Education, not just for use in single studies, but are embedded into entire programs, so students can demonstrate the development of their skills and learning, and to value becoming a reflective practitioner. This paper describes a pilot research study that sets out to investigate the skills postgraduate students acquire and practice from producing an eportfolio as part of their degree program, and also if the skills continue to be used in the graduate’s professional work. The participants in the pilot study are graduates of the Master of Education, since many of them are already practicing teachers. After completing their degree, graduates are invited to allow their eportfolios to be analysed, and agree to be interviewed regarding their eportfolio skills and learning. The eportfolios and interview transcripts are being analysed using qualitative content analysis. This paper discusses some early observations made during the data collection, including participants’ attitudes to the final product, difficulties experienced by students in the design process, and the attributes of teachers more likely to carry their skills into the school classroom. After the data analysis is complete it is expected the outcomes of the study will inform the improvement of pre-service teacher and graduate teacher preparation through the refinement of the eportfolio embedment in degree programs, and to provide more information about the professional teaching practice of graduates of Higher Education. The ultimate goal is to have more information about the transference of positive learning skills from graduates to their professional work environments, many of which are school classrooms.
Increasing diversity through goal-setting in corporate social responsibility reporting

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of goal-setting theory in remediating workplace demographic representation inequality. Design/methodology/approach This study evaluates the effect of goal-setting theory in Fortune 100 companies’ corporate social reporting (CSR) on year-over-prior change in diversity representation using t-tests and independent, repeated measures ANOVA. Findings Reporting companies significantly outperformed the population in minority and female leadership increases. Companies using specific goals and relevant feedback facilitated better outcomes for minority and female leaders, respectively. Research limitations/implications Dichotomous coding was employed. Qualitative coding over multiple years is suggested for future research. CSR reporting is voluntary, unaudited, and inconsistent. Comparing outcomes for organizations with mandatory reporting or diversity quotas would provide interesting future comparatives. Despite the limitations, this research demonstrates the benefits of goal-setting theory on social outcomes. Practical implications Companies transparently publishing goals, feedback, and metrics lead the way to multicultural environments. Additionally, investors use social responsibility in investment decision making. The Securities and Exchange Commission should incorporate non-financial requirements into existent reporting subject to audit, consistent presentation, and public availability. Organizations should disclose diversity goals and outcomes whether the company aspires to genuinely promote greater representation or avoid greater regulation. Reporting transparency and articulation of specific, measureable goals and feedback are encouraged for non-financial metrics. Originality/value Significant research investigates why inequality exists in organizations yet little addresses how to reduce the problem. Pioneer studies in applying goal-setting to diversity show promise. Research exploring the dark side of goal-setting is rapidly emerging. This research pursues the “light side” of goal-setting to evaluate use on social business issues, specifically, increasing diverse representation.
Copy Number Variants in Obesity-Related Syndromes: Review and Perspectives on Novel Molecular Approaches

In recent decades, obesity has reached epidemic proportions worldwide and became a major concern in public health. Despite heritability estimates of 40 to 70% and the long-recognized genetic basis of obesity in a number of rare cases, the list of common obesity susceptibility variants by the currently published genome-wide association studies (GWASs) only explain a small proportion of the individual variation in risk of obesity. It was not until very recently that GWASs of copy number variants (CNVs) in individuals with extreme phenotypes reported a number of large and rare CNVs conferring high risk to obesity, and specifically deletions on chromosome 16p11.2. In this paper, we comment on the recent advances in the field of genetics of obesity with an emphasis on the genes and genomic regions implicated in highly penetrant forms of obesity associated with developmental disorders. Array genomic hybridization in this patient population has afforded discovery opportunities for CNVs that have not previously been detectable. This information can be used to generate new diagnostic arrays and sequencing platforms, which will likely enhance detection of known genetic conditions with the potential to elucidate new disease genes and ultimately help in developing a next-generation sequencing protocol relevant to clinical practice.
Understanding failures through facts

Why does my program crash? "--This ever recurring question of software debugging drives the developer during the analysis of the failure. Complex defects are impossible to automatically identify; this can only be left to human judgment. But what we can do is empower the developer to make an informed decision, by helping her understand the failure. To fully comprehend a failure, one may need to consider many different aspects such as the range of the input parameters and the program's structure and runtime behavior. I propose an approach that gathers a variety of such facts from a given failing execution. To examine the correlation of those facts to the failure, it produces additional executions that differ in as few facts as possible. Then the approach creates generalizations and abstractions over the correlating facts. These explain different aspects of the failure and thus help the developer understand and eventually fix the underlying defect.
Panel VAR Models with Spatial Dependence

I consider a panel vector-autoregressive model with cross-sectional dependence of the disturbances characterized by a spatial autoregressive process. I propose a three-step estimation procedure. Its first step is an instrumental variable estimation that ignores the spatial correlation. In the second step, the estimated disturbances are used in a multivariate spatial generalized moments estimation to infer the degree of spatial correlation. The final step of the procedure uses transformed data and applies standard techniques for estimation of panel vector-autoregressive models. I compare the small-sample performance of various estimation strategies in a Monte Carlo study.
Adjusting for Multiple Comparisons

The problem of multiple comparisons continues to be the subject of controversy in the field of statistics. This problem arises whenever we test a series of hypotheses. When we set the level of Type I error (the probability of declaring a result significant when the null hypothesis is, in fact, true) to a given value for each test, then the probability of a Type I error increases as the number of tests increases.
Automated optimal synthesis of microaccelerometers

The rapid layout synthesis of a lateral accelerometer from high-level functional specifications and design constraints is demonstrated. Functional parameters such as sensitivity, minimum and maximum detectable acceleration are satisfied while simultaneously optimizing a design objective, such as device area. The optimal synthesis tool allows exploration of micromechanical device and system design issues and objectives. Layout synthesis couples optimization-based design to determine the values of layout geometry followed with layout generation to translate the desired device performance into a device layout. This rapid layout generation allows for an 'on-the-fly' cell library generation methodology for use in design of integrated microsystems. In particular, the optimization-based approach to design allows the designer to determine the crucial design tradeoffs in meeting the system-level performances, as shown by synthesis results presented.
The Tertiary Singing Audition: Perceptual and Acoustic Differences between Successful and Unsuccessful Candidates

Background in music practice. The audition process is used extensively in the arts to identify talent and to determine entry into music conservatoria. Judges must make rapid decisions regarding the quality and training potential of singing voices, however, there is limited understanding of these decisional processes and the criteria on which they are based. Background in music perception and acoustics. Few scientific studies link perceptual judgments with acoustic parameters. The audition process provided an opportunity to investigate these in an authentic singing assessment setting. Aims. This is the first study to evaluate the singing audition process by assessing judges’ reliability in adjudication and the relationship between audition outcomes (voice major, minor and not accepted), descriptions of voices by adjudicators and acoustic indicators of successful performances of singers who auditioned for entry into a Bachelor of Music degree. Main contribution. We observed and recorded a singing audition. The panel of judges was required to achieve consensus in their allocation of students into three groups - major or minor streams of the vocal program or non-acceptance into the degree. However, their comments on singers’ vocal quality did not identify specific features that were used to make these allocations. There was no effect of time or day on audition outcomes. There were significant differences between mean SPL in performances of females allocated to different groups but there were no differences in SPL between males’ performances. Implications. Assessment of the audition process in an authentic audition setting raised a number of significant methodological issues about data capture and analysis that need to be addressed in future studies. The challenge is to identify and analyse meaningful acoustic data from a performance setting that does not interfere with or alter the performance or assessment process.
Expansion of the Gene Ontology knowledgebase and resources

The Gene Ontology (GO) is a comprehensive resource of computable knowledge regarding the functions of genes and gene products. As such, it is extensively used by the biomedical research community for the analysis of -omics and related data. Our continued focus is on improving the quality and utility of the GO resources, and we welcome and encourage input from researchers in all areas of biology. In this update, we summarize the current contents of the GO knowledgebase, and present several new features and improvements that have been made to the ontology, the annotations and the tools. Among the highlights are 1) developments that facilitate access to, and application of, the GO knowledgebase, and 2) extensions to the resource as well as increasing support for descriptions of causal models of biological systems and network biology. To learn more, visit http://geneontology.org/.
A Single Dose of Beetroot Gel Rich in Nitrate Does Not Improve Performance but Lowers Blood Glucose in Physically Active Individuals

Background. Beetroot consumption has been proposed to improve exercise performance, since the nitrate content of this food is able to stimulate the synthesis of nitric oxide. Objective. The acute effect of 100 g of a beetroot gel containing ~10 mmol of nitrate was tested on the nitric oxide synthesis, on metabolic and biochemical parameters, and on performance in physically active individuals. Methods. Through a double blind, crossover, placebo-controlled study, 25 healthy runners ingested a single dose of beetroot and placebo gels. Participants performed an aerobic exercise protocol on a treadmill (3 min warm-up of 40% peak oxygen consumption, 4 min at 90% of gas exchange threshold I and 70% (Δ) maximal end speed until volitional fatigue). Results. Urinary levels of nitrite and nitrate increased after 90 min of beetroot gel ingestion. Plasma glucose concentrations lowered after the exercise and the decrease was maintained for 20 min. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, serum cortisol, and blood lactate were not altered after the beetroot gel ingestion compared to a placebo gel. Conclusion. The single dose of beetroot gel provoked an increase of nitric oxide synthesis although no improvement on the physical performance of athletes during aerobic submaximal exercise was observed.
Necessity of OxyR for the Hydrogen Peroxide Stress Response and Full Virulence in Ralstonia solanacearum

ABSTRACT The plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum, which causes bacterial wilt disease, is exposed to reactive oxygen species (ROS) during tomato infection and expresses diverse oxidative stress response (OSR) genes during midstage disease on tomato. The R. solanacearum genome predicts that the bacterium produces multiple and redundant ROS-scavenging enzymes but only one known oxidative stress response regulator, OxyR. An R. solanacearum oxyR mutant had no detectable catalase activity, did not grow in the presence of 250 μM hydrogen peroxide, and grew poorly in the oxidative environment of solid rich media. This phenotype was rescued by the addition of exogenous catalase, suggesting that oxyR is essential for the hydrogen peroxide stress response. Unexpectedly, the oxyR mutant strain grew better than the wild type in the presence of the superoxide generator paraquat. Gene expression studies indicated that katE, kaG, ahpC1, grxC, and oxyR itself were each differentially expressed in the oxyR mutant background and in response to hydrogen peroxide, suggesting that oxyR is necessary for hydrogen peroxide-inducible gene expression. Additional OSR genes were differentially regulated in response to hydrogen peroxide alone. The virulence of the oxyR mutant strain was significantly reduced in both tomato and tobacco host plants, demonstrating that R. solanacearum is exposed to inhibitory concentrations of ROS in planta and that OxyR-mediated responses to ROS during plant pathogenesis are important for R. solanacearum host adaptation and virulence.
Liver Function as an Engineering System

Process Systems Engineering has tackled a wide range of problems including manufacturing, the environment, and advanced materials design. Here we discuss how tools can be deployed to tackle medical problems which involve complex chemical transformations and spatial phenomena looking in particular at the liver system, the body’s chemical factory. We show how an existing model has been developed to model distributed behavior necessary to predict the behavior of drugs for treating liver disease. The model has been used to predict the effects of suppression of de novo lipogenesis, stimulation of b-oxidation and a combination of the two. A reduced model has also been used to explore the prediction of behavior of hormones in the blood stream controlling glucose levels to ensure that levels are kept within safe bounds using interval methods. The predictions are made resulting from uncertainty in two key parameters with oscillating input resulting from regular feeding. VC 2016 The Authors AIChE Journal published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 3285–3297, 2016
A new version of ant system for subset problems

Early applications of Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) have been mainly concerned with solving ordering problems (e.g., traveling salesman problem). We introduce a new version of Ant System-an ACO algorithm for solving subset problems. The computational study involves the Multiple Knapsack Problem (MKP); the reported results show the potential power of the ACO approach for solving this type of subset problem.
Interannual Variability in the Distribution of the Phytoplankton Standing Stock across the Seasonal Sea-Ice Zone West of the Antarctic Peninsula

The spatial distribution of phytoplankton cell abundance, carbon (C) biomass and chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration was analysed during three summer (1996, 1997 and 1999) in a seasonal sea-ice area, west of the Antarctic Peninsula. The objective of the study was to assess interannual variability in phytoplankton spatial distribution and the mechanisms that regulate phytoplankton accumulation in the water column. Phytoplankton C biomass and Chl a distributions were consistent from year to year, exhibiting a negative on/offshore gradient. The variations in C concentration, had a close and non-linear relationship with the upper mixed layer depth, suggesting that the vertical mixing of the water column is the main factor regulating phytoplankton stock. The magnitude of C gradients was 5-fold higher during 1996 than during 1997 and 1999. This was ascribed to interannual variations in the concentration of diatom blooms in the region influenced by sea-ice melting. Vertical distribution of the phytoplakton, as estimated from Chl a profiles,, also varied along an on/offshore gradient: Chl a was distributed homogeneously in the upper mixed layer in coastal and mid-shelf stations and concentrated in the deep layer (40-100 m) occupied by the winter waters (WW, remnants of the Antarctic surface waters during summer) in more offshore stations. The region with a deep Chl a maximum layer (DCM layer) was dominated by a phytoplankton assemblage characterised by a relatively high concentration of diatoms. The extent of this region varied from year to year: it was restricted to pelagic waters during 1996, extended to the shelf slope during 199 7 and occupied a major portion of the area during 1999. It is hypothesized that iron depletion in near surface waters due to phytoplankton consumption, and a higher concentration in WW, regulated this vertical phytoplankton distribution pattern. Furthermore, we postulate that year-to-year variations in the spatial distribution of the DCM layer were related to interannual variations in the timing of the sea-ice retreat. The similarity between our results and those reported in literature for other areas of the Southern Ocean allows us to suggest that the mechanisms proposed here as regulating phytoplankton stock in our area may be applicable elsewhere.
MCMC for Variationally Sparse Gaussian Processes

Gaussian process (GP) models form a core part of probabilistic machine learning. Considerable research effort has been made into attacking three issues with GP models: how to compute efficiently when the number of data is large; how to approximate the posterior when the likelihood is not Gaussian and how to estimate covariance function parameter posteriors. This paper simultaneously addresses these, using a variational approximation to the posterior which is sparse in support of the function but otherwise free-form. The result is a Hybrid Monte-Carlo sampling scheme which allows for a non-Gaussian approximation over the function values and covariance parameters simultaneously, with efficient computations based on inducing-point sparse GPs. Code to replicate each experiment in this paper is available at github.com/sparseMCMC.