Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Online The Open University ’ s repository of research publications and other research outputs Fully generated scripted dialogue for embodied agents

This paper presents the NECA approach to the generation of dialogues between Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs). This approach consist of the automated constructtion of an abstract script for an entire dialogue (cast in terms of dialogue acts), which is incrementally enhanced by a series of modules and finally ”performed” by means of text, speech and body language, by a cast of ECAs. The approach makes it possible to automatically produce a large variety of highly expressive dialogues, some of whose essential properties are under the control of a user. The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of NECA’s approach to Fully Generated Scripted Dialogue (FGSD), and explains the main techniques used in the two demonstrators that were built. The paper can be read as a survey of issues and techniques in the construction of ECAs, focussing on the generation of behaviour (i.e., focussing on information presentation) rather than on interpretation.
Transnational Families, Migration and the Circulation of Care : Understanding Mobility and Absence in Family Life

Part A: Conceptualising Care Circulation Introduction: Transnational Family Caregiving Through the Lens of Circulation Loretta Baldassar and Laura Merla 1. Locating Transnational Care Circulation in Migration and Family Studies Loretta Baldassar and Laura Merla Part B: Care Circulation: Theoretical and Empirical Considerations 2. Mapping the New Plurality of Transnational Families: A Life Course Perspective Karin Wall and Claudio Bolzman 3. Care (and) Circulation Revisited: A Conceptual Map of Diversity in Transnational Parenting Paola Bonizzoni and Paolo Boccagni 4. Care Circulation, Absence and Affect in Transnational Families Marina Ariza 5. A Macro Perspective on Transnational Families and Care Circulation: Situating Capacity, Obligation and Family Commitments Laura Merla Part C: Gendered Care Circuits: Exploring Absence Beyond Mother-Child Dyads 6. Migration and Care: Intimately Related Aspects of Caribbean Family and Kinship Karen Fog Olwig 7. Ghanaian Children in Transnational Families: Understanding the Experiences of Left-Behind Children Through Local Parenting Norms Miranda Poeze and Valentina Mazzucato 8. Men's Caregiving Practices in Filipino Transnational Families: A Case Study of Left-Behind Fathers and Sons Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot 9. Polish Male Migrants in London: The Circulation of Fatherly Care Majella Kilkey Part D: The Mobilities of Care as a Resource Within and Beyond Transnational Families 10. Care Circulation in Transnational Families: Social and Cultural Capitals in Italian and Caribbean Migrant Communities in Britain Tracey Reynolds and Elisabetta Zontini 11. "Boomerang Remittances" and Circular Care: A Study of Indian Transnational Families in Australia Supriya Singh and Anuja Cabraal 12. Middle Class Transnational Caregiving: The Circulation of Care Between Family and Extended Kin Networks in the Global North Loretta Baldassar and Raelene Wilding
Induction of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures without placebo

Article abstract The diagnosis of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) can only be made with EEG-video monitoring. The authors describe a provocative technique without placebo. Patients with a clinical suspicion for PNES underwent an activation procedure using suggestion, hyperventilation, and photic stimulation. Of 19 inductions performed, 16 (84%) were successful in inducing the habitual episode. The authors’ technique had a sensitivity comparable to those using placebo (e.g., saline injection), but does not have disadvantages.
Paleomagnetic Constraints on Mineralization Age of the Nansatsu‐type Gold Deposits in Southern Kyushu, Japan

Abstract: Two mineralization stages, stage I and stage II, have been identified from textural, mineralogical and crosscutting relationships in gold ore from the Nansatsu‐type gold deposits of Kasuga, Iwato and Akeshi. Mineralization age of each stage in each deposit was determined with paleomagnetic methods on 432 specimens from 312 oriented samples. As results, mineralization ages of stage I of each deposit fall in the same period, the reversed polarity subchron of 4.18–3.58 Ma, and those of stage II are limited in the normal and reversed polarity subchrons of 3.58–3.22 Ma. Contrasting with previous results based only on K‐Ar ages, our conclusion shows that these Nansatsu‐type gold deposits were formed contemporaneously.
Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in macaque V1 are most frequently expressed by parvalbumin‐immunoreactive neurons

Acetylcholine (ACh) is believed to underlie mechanisms of arousal and attention in mammals. ACh also has a demonstrated functional effect in visual cortex that is both diverse and profound. We have reported previously that cholinergic modulation in V1 of the macaque monkey is strongly targeted toward GABAergic interneurons. Here we examine the localization of m1 and m2 muscarinic receptor subtypes across subpopulations of GABAergic interneurons—identified by their expression of the calcium‐binding proteins parvalbumin, calbindin, and calretinin—using dual‐immunofluorescence confocal microscopy in V1 of the macaque monkey. In doing so, we find that the vast majority (87%) of parvalbumin‐immunoreactive neurons express m1‐type muscarinic ACh receptors. m1 receptors are also expressed by 60% of calbindin‐immunoreactive neurons and 40% of calretinin‐immunoreactive neurons. m2 AChRs, on the other hand, are expressed by only 31% of parvalbumin neurons, 23% of calbindin neurons, and 25% of calretinin neurons. Parvalbumin‐immunoreactive cells comprise ≈75% of the inhibitory neuronal population in V1 and included in this large subpopulation are neurons known to veto and regulate the synchrony of principal cell spiking. Through the expression of m1 ACh receptors on nearly all of these PV cells, the cholinergic system avails itself of powerful control of information flow through and processing within the network of principal cells in the cortical circuit. J. Comp. Neurol. 507:1748–1762, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
MapSnapper: engineering an efficient algorithm for matching images of maps from mobile phones

The MapSnapper project aimed to develop a system for robust matching of low-quality images of a paper map taken from a mobile phone against a high quality digital raster representation of the same map. The paper presents a novel methodology for performing content-based image retrieval and object recognition from query images that have been degraded by noise and subjected to transformations through the imaging system. In addition the paper also provides an insight into the evaluation-driven development process that was used to incrementally improve the matching performance until the design specifications were met.
ENSO relationship to the rainfall of Sri Lanka

Each year during 1881-1990 was examined to check whether it had an El Nino (EN) and/or a Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) minimum (SO) and/or warm (W) or cold (C) equatorial eastern Pactfic sea surface temperatures SST. Several years were ENSOW, which were further subdivided into two groups namely, unambiguous ENSOW where El Nino existed and SOI minima and SST maxima were in the middle of the calendar year (May-August), and ambiguous ENSOW where El Nino existed but the SOI minima and SST maxima were in the early or late part of the calendar year, not in the middle. Other El Nino events were of the type ENSO, ENW, ENC and EN. Some years not having El Nino were of the types SOW, SOC, SO, W and C, the last one (C) containing all anti-El Ninos, i.e. La Ninas. Remaining years were termed as non-events. For all these years, the normalized rainfall deviations from the mean were examined for seven rainfall series, three in India and four in Sri Lanka. For the all India summer monsoon rainfall and Indian southern peninsula summer monsoon rainfall, unambiguous ENSOW years showed a very good association with droughts. The Sri Lanka southwest monsoon rains also showed a similar tendency; but the Sri Lanka second intermonsoon season rainfall showed a strong opposite tendency (floods instead of droughts). For other types of El Nino years, results were generally obscure. For C type events. results were opposite to those of unambiguous events, as expected. It is suggested that for obtaining composite maps based on El Nino years, only the unambiguous ENSOW years may be used.
Assessment of Family Functioning and Its Relationship to Quality of Life in Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Women

Introduction: One of the most important components and health indicators, especially among people with chronic diseases is quality of life. One of the possible factors which may impact on quality of life of diabetic patients is family functioning. This study aimed to determine the relationship between family functioning and quality of life of diabetic and non-diabetic women. Methods: In this correlational cross-sectional study, 180 women (diabetics and non-diabetics) who referred to health centers in Mashhad in 2014-2015 were studied. Data were collected using SF-36 questionnaire and Mc Master Family Assessment Device (FAD). Data were analyzed using descriptive and statistical tests by SPSS ver.13 software. Results: The result showed that diabetic women reported family impairment compared with none diabetic women. There was a significant relationship between the family functioning and quality of life in diabetics and non-diabetic women. Based on the results of the stepwise regression model, among factors of family function only the factor of behavioral control was able to predict the quality of life in diabetic women. Conclusion: Regarding the study findings, good family function associated with better quality of life in diabetics and healthy women. Therefore, due to disturbed family function in diabetic’s women implementation of training programs and consulting services could improve their quality of life.
THE MIDDLE MIOCENE (LAVENTAN) QUEBRADA HONDA FAUNA, SOUTHERN BOLIVIA and A DESCRIPTION OF ITS NOTOUNGULATES

Abstract: The Laventan Quebrada Honda Fauna of southern Bolivia is one of the best sampled middle Miocene South American faunas. The present study describes the toxodontid, interatheriid and mesotheriid notoungulates from Quebrada Honda and summarizes the present state of knowledge of the fauna. Toxodontid specimens from Quebrada Honda include two isolated molars, one upper and one lower. The upper molar compares favourably with Paratrigodon and may represent a new species, but too little material is known to make an adequate diagnosis. The lower molar may pertain to the same taxon, or to a distinct species that is even more poorly represented. A new species of the interatheriid Miocochilius is described, M. federicoi, on the basis of a partial skull. It differs from M. anomopodus in its significantly smaller size (at least 20 per cent smaller based on linear upper molar dimensions); relatively wider P4 with deeper lingual sulcus; more prominent middle lobes on upper molars; and M3 with deeper lingual sulcus and more prominent metastyle (distal lobe). The generic allocation of this new species is considered tentative, pending a better understanding of the phylogenetic relationships among currently recognized species of Miocochilius and Protypotherium. Mesotheriids are represented at Quebrada Honda by a pair of poorly preserved mandibles that are referred to Plesiotypotherium minor, a species previously recorded from slightly older deposits near Cerdas, Bolivia. A newly revised faunal list for Quebrada Honda is compiled that includes 30 species of non‐volant mammals, 27 of which have been identified to at least genus level. This revised faunal list is used to compare Quebrada Honda to other well‐sampled middle–late Miocene faunas (including La Venta, Columbia; Collón‐Curá, Argentina; and Arroyo Chasicó, Argentina) using the Simpson Index of faunal similarity. In order to compensate for inadequately identified specimens (i.e. those not identified to genus level), minimum and maximum values of faunal similarly were estimated using two different sets of assumptions. The analysis indicates that the middle‐latitude Quebrada Honda Fauna is more similar to the slightly older high‐latitude fauna of Collón‐Curá than to the contemporaneous low‐latitude fauna of La Venta, suggesting that isolating mechanisms between the low and middle latitudes were in place during the early and/or middle Miocene. The relative paucity of taxa shared between Quebrada Honda and La Venta, despite their contemporaneity, suggests that the system of South American Land Mammal ‘Ages’ (SALMAs) may not be useful for biocorrelation between low‐latitude faunas and those from elsewhere in South America.
'Little Ice Age' aridity in the North American Great Plains: a high-resolution reconstruction of salinity fluctuations from Devils Lake, North Dakota, USA

The 'Little Ice Age' was an interval between about AD 1500 and 1850, characterized by advancing glaciers in mountainous regions of Europe and western North America. However, it is unclear whether this cool moist period was truly global in extent, or how it was manifested in other regions with different climatic controls. A high-resolution reconstruction of salinity fluctuations in Devils Lake, North Dakota, based on fossil diatoms, ostracode-shell geochemistry, and bulk-carbonate geochemistry, indicates that saline conditions prevailed throughout much of the recent past. These results suggest an arid climate in the northern Great Plains throughout the 'Little Ice Age' and that during this interval climatic gradients between the Great Plains and regions to both the east and west may have been quite steep.
Magnetoencephalogram background activity analysis in Alzheimer's disease patients using auto mutual information

The goal of this study was to analyze the magnetoencephalogram (MEG) background activity in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) using the auto mutual information (AMI). Applied to time series, AMI provides a measure of future points predictability from past points. Five minutes of recording were acquired with a 148-channel whole-head magnetometer (MAGNES 2500 WH, 4D neuroimaging) in 12 patients with probable AD and 12 elderly control subjects. Artifact-free epochs of 20 seconds (3392 points, sample frequency of 169.6 Hz) were selected for our study. Our results showed that the absolute values of the averaged decline rate of AMI were lower in AD patients than in control subjects for all channels. In addition, there were statistically significant differences (p<0.01, Student's t-test) in most channels. These preliminary results suggest that neuronal dysfunction in AD is associated with differences in the dynamical processes underlying the MEG recording
Why do UV levels vary

Have you ever suffered the excrutiating pain and discomfort of a severe sunburn followed by the unsightly peeling of the skin? Have you ever wondered why you may receive a sunburn even on a partially cloudy day? There are a number of factors that influence the amount of solar ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth’s surface. ; ;
Temporal, Spatial and Geochemical Discriminations of Granitoids in South Korea

Abstract: Five groups of the Phanerozoic granitoids in South Korea can be deduced from their temporal and spatial distributions: (1) Jurassic granitoids in the Gyeonggi massif, (2) Permo‐Jurassic granitoids in the Ogcheon belt, (3) Permo‐Jurassic granitoids in the Yeongnam massif, (4) Cretaceous granitoids in the Ogcheon belt, and (5) Cretaceous granitoids in the Gyeongsang basin. Though the granitoids of each group generally show calc‐alkaline and orogenic natures, the petrological, geochemical and genetical features are different with each other.
Simulation of large‐scale dynamics in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere with the Doppler‐spread parameterization of gravity waves: 1. Implementation and zonal mean climatologies

Small-scale gravity waves (GWs) originating in the lower atmosphere maintain the large-scale structure and circulation in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT). At solstice the drag imposed by these waves supports a strong meridional circulation from summer pole to winter pole that acts as a giant “refrigerator” transporting heat from a colder summer mesosphere to a warmer winter mesosphere. The Doppler-spread parameterization (DSP) of gravity waves developed by C. O. Hines has been implemented into the Spectral Mesosphere/Lower Thermosphere Model. Simulations for solstice and equinox conditions compare favorably with empirical models and observations. A particularly good agreement for both seasons is found with recent in situ observations of polar mesospheric temperatures. The thermal structure at high latitudes, especially at solstice, is almost entirely driven by the GW momentum deposition in the MLT. The DSP appears to provide a very realistic distribution of the GW drag imposed on the large-scale circulation. A modification is suggested for the calculation of GW energy deposition rate that appears to be more consistent with the physics of Doppler spreading. The simulations exhibit strong seasonal variations in the energy deposition rates with a summer maximum of ∼200 mW kg−1 at middle and high latitudes in the upper mesosphere in very good agreement with recent in situ estimates.
Corneal Limbal Microenvironment Can Induce Transdifferentiation of Hair Follicle Stem Cells into Corneal Epithelial-like Cells

The aim of this study was to investigate the transdifferentiation potential of murine vibrissa hair follicle (HF) stem cells into corneal epithelial‐like cells through modulation by corneal‐ or limbus‐specific microenvironmental factors. Adult epithelial stem cells were isolated from the HF bulge region by mechanical dissection or fluorescence‐activated cell sorting using antibodies to α6 integrin, enriched by clonal expansion, and subcultivated on various extracellular matrices (type IV collagen, laminin‐1, laminin‐5, fibronectin) and in different conditioned media derived from central and peripheral corneal fibroblasts, limbal stromal fibroblasts, and 3T3 fibroblasts. Cellular phenotype and differentiation were evaluated by light and electron microscopy, real‐time reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction, immunocytochemistry, and Western blotting, using antibodies against putative stem cell markers (K15, α6 integrin) and differentiation markers characteristic for corneal epithelium (K12, Pax6) or epidermis (K10). Using laminin‐5, a major component of the corneo‐limbal basement membrane zone, and conditioned medium from limbal stromal fibroblasts, clonally enriched HF stem and progenitor cells adhered rapidly and formed regularly arranged stratified cell sheets. Conditioned medium derived from limbal fibroblasts markedly upregulated expression of cornea‐specific K12 and Pax6 on the mRNA and protein level, whereas expression of the epidermal keratinocyte marker K10 was strongly downregulated. These findings suggest that adult HF epithelial stem cells are capable of differentiating into corneal epithelial‐like cells in vitro when exposed to a limbus‐specific microenvironment. Therefore, the HF may be an easily accessible alternative therapeutic source of autologous adult stem cells for replacement of the corneal epithelium and restoration of visual function in patients with ocular surface disorders. STEM CELLS 2009;27:642–652
Coloring random graphs online without creating monochromatic subgraphs

Consider the following random process: The vertices of a binomial random graph Gn,p are revealed one by one, and at each step only the edges induced by the already revealed vertices are visible. Our goal is to assign to each vertex one from a fixed number r of available colors immediately and irrevocably without creating a monochromatic copy of some fixed graph F in the process. Our first main result is that for any F and r, the threshold function for this problem is given by p0(F,r,n) = n‐1/m*1(F,r), where m*1(F,r) denotes the so‐called online vertex‐Ramsey density of F and r. This parameter is defined via a purely deterministic two‐player game, in which the random process is replaced by an adversary that is subject to certain restrictions inherited from the random setting. Our second main result states that for any F and r, the online vertex‐Ramsey density m*1(F,r) is a computable rational number.
The Effects of Celeration Lines on Visual Data Analysis

Previous visual analysis research reported that the overall agreement between visual analysis and statistical analysis was poor. In response, some researchers suggested the use of celeration lines to improve the accuracy and reliability of visual analysis. However, subsequent research reported little or no improvement in accuracy with such lines. The present study presented 5 board-certified behavior analysts with a series of behavioral graphs. The participants were asked to answer questions similar to those posed in previous studies but were also asked to talk aloud as they viewed each graph. Results indicate that the participants made accurate decisions for only 72% of the graphs and that celeration lines did not improve overall accuracy. The verbal protocol analysis suggests that participants were as likely to attend to trend when celeration lines were absent as they were when they were present, with the most differences attributable to varying participant competencies and not graph (i.e., celeration line) characteristics.
TANNAKA DUALITY AND CONVOLUTION FOR DUOIDAL CATEGORIES

Given a horizontal monoid M in a duoidal category F , we examine the relationship between bimonoid structures on M and monoidal structures on the category F M of right M-modules which lift the vertical monoidal structure of F. We obtain our result using a variant of the so-called Tannaka adjunction; that is, an adjunction inducing the equivalence which expresses Tannaka duality. The approach taken uti- lizes hom-enriched categories rather than categories on which a monoidal category acts (\actegories"). The requirement of enrichment in F itself demands the existence of some internal homs, leading to the consideration of convolution for duoidal categories. Proving that certain hom-functors are monoidal, and so take monoids to monoids, uni- es classical convolution in algebra and Day convolution for categories. Hopf bimonoids are dened leading to a lifting of closed structures on F to F M. We introduce the concept of warping monoidal structures and this permits the construction of new duoidal categories.
Clay-bridged electron transfer between cytochrome p450(cam) and electrode.

We demonstrate a very fast heterogeneous redox reaction of substrate-free cytochrome P450(cam) on a glassy carbon electrode modified with sodium montmorillonite. The linear relationship of the peak current in the cyclic voltammogram with the scan rate indicates a reversible one-electron transfer surface process. The electron transfer rate is in the range from 5 to 152 s(-1) with scan rates from 0.4 to 12 V/s, respectively. These values are comparable to rates reported for the natural electron transfer from putidaredoxin to P450(cam). The formal potential of adsorbed P450(cam) is -139 mV (vs NHE) and therefore positively shifted by 164 mV compared to the potential of substrate-free P450(cam) in solution. UV-VIS and FTIR spectra do not indicate an influence of the clay colloidal particles on the heme and the secondary structure of P450(cam) in solution. However, P450(cam) adsorbed on the surface of the clay-modified electrode may undergo partial dehydration resulting in the shift of the formal potential.