Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visualizing and Understanding Curriculum Learning for Long Short-Term Memory Networks

Curriculum Learning emphasizes the order of training instances in a computational learning setup. The core hypothesis is that simpler instances should be learned early as building blocks to learn more complex ones. Despite its usefulness, it is still unknown how exactly the internal representation of models are affected by curriculum learning. In this paper, we study the effect of curriculum learning on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks, which have shown strong competency in many Natural Language Processing (NLP) problems. Our experiments on sentiment analysis task and a synthetic task similar to sequence prediction tasks in NLP show that curriculum learning has a positive effect on the LSTM's internal states by biasing the model towards building constructive representations i.e. the internal representation at the previous timesteps are used as building blocks for the final prediction. We also find that smaller models significantly improves when they are trained with curriculum learning. Lastly, we show that curriculum learning helps more when the amount of training data is limited.
From left to right...: Coverbal gestures and their symbolic use of space

This study overlaps with Johnson’s (1987) ideas about the image schemas underlying thought, but rather than grasping them through the deductive analysis of verbal metaphors, they are approached here through the analysis of the symbolic components of gestures which, accompanying speech, refer to abstract entities. The corpus analyzed was compiled from six television interviews with the French Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin. The interviews averaged thirty minutes and took place over a one-year period. Only symbolic variations along the transverse axis, which is both symmetrical and oriented, are studied. The transverse axis appears to encompass several symbolic axes: a value axis, a spatio-temporal axis, and a logico-temporal axis, themselves derived from the axes of physical progression, which are growth, walking, and writing. A fourth, two-directional symbolic axis depicting an evolving process is added to the above. Successive translations of the upward and forward axes on to the rightward axis, achieved for contextual or ergonomic reasons, are mentally possible, since all three are axes of physical progression. This projection on to the side-toside axis accounts for the semiologically motivated complexity of the symbolic system represented on this major axis.
Connecting with New Audiences: Exploring the Impact of Mobile Communication Devices on the Experiences of Young Adults in Museums

ABSTRACT Museums worldwide have embraced digital technology and social media in their exhibitions and marketing, yet many discourage visitors' use of mobile communication devices (MCDs), claiming this detracts from the learning experience. This study was guided by mindfulness theory from social cognitive psychology which provides a framework for studying attention, engagement, and learning. It explored the museum experiences of 58 young adults under three experimental conditions—a control group who visited an exhibition with no instructions, a no-MCD group who surrendered all MCDs on entry, and a directed MCD group given guidance on how to use their MCD including taking photographs. The no-MCD group spent significantly less time in the exhibition and had the lowest scores for mindfulness and perceived learning. The directed MCD group spent significantly longer in the exhibition and at exhibits with more text and had the highest scores for mindfulness and perceived learning. This group also took more and different photographs in the exhibition than did the control group. Implications for museum design and MCD policy are outlined.
Proteoglycans Provide Neurite Guidance at an Astrocyte Boundary

Astrocytes in the developing brain direct neurites through their synthesis of cell surface and extracellular matrix molecules. We introduce a novel culture system to identify and examine the guidance properties of astrocyte-derived molecules. The permissive A7 and nonpermissive Neu7 cell lines were co-cultured to form an A7/Neu7 monolayer. Neurites extended on A7 cells but avoided Neu7 cells and instead stopped or turned at the A7/Neu7 Interface. Enzymatic treatment with trypsin and hyaluronic acid increased neurite extension, but neither altered the boundary. Only, removal of keratan and chondroitin sulfate residues reduced the guidance capacity of the A7/Neu7 boundary. Since no treatment individually abolished the boundary, neurite guidance appears to be due to a combination of factors. The A7/Neu7 astrocyte substrate demonstrates the functional role for KSPGs and CSPGs, but more interestingly, suggests that simply increasing the capacity of a substrate to permit neurite outgrowth does not necessarily eliminate or even reduce its guidance properties.
A Candidate Gene Approach Identifies an IL33 Genetic Variant as a Novel Genetic Risk Factor for GCA

Introduction Increased expression of IL-33 and its receptor ST2, encoded by the IL1RL1 gene, has been detected in the inflamed arteries of giant cell arteritis (GCA) patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate for the first time the potential influence of the IL33 and IL1RL1 loci on GCA predisposition. Methods A total of 1,363 biopsy-proven GCA patients and 3,908 healthy controls from four European cohorts (Spain, Italy, Germany and Norway) were combined in a meta-analysis. Six genetic variants: rs3939286, rs7025417 and rs7044343, within the IL33 gene, and rs2058660, rs2310173 and rs13015714, within the IL1RL1 gene, previously associated with immune-related diseases, were genotyped using predesigned TaqMan assays. Results A consistent association between the rs7025417 polymorphism and GCA was evident in the overall meta-analysis, under both allele (PMH = 0.041, OR = 0.88, CI 95% 0.78–0.99) and recessive (PMH = 3.40E-03, OR = 0.53, CI 95% 0.35–0.80) models. No statistically significant differences between allele or genotype frequencies for the other IL33 and IL1RL1 genetic variants were detected in this pooled analysis. Conclusions Our results clearly evidenced the implication of the IL33 rs7025417 polymorphism in the genetic network underlying GCA.
Do Indicators of Financial Crises Work? An Evaluation of an Early Warning System

The object of this paper is to develop an operational early warning system (EWS) that can detect financial crises. To achieve this goal the paper analyzes and extends the early warning system developed by Kaminsky, Lizondo, and Reinhart (1998) and Kaminsky and Reinhart (1999) that is based on the "signal" approach. This system monitors several indicators that tend to exhibit an unusual behavior in the periods preceding a crisis. When an indicator exceeds (or falls below) a threshold, then it is said to issue a "signal" that a currency crisis may occur within a given period. The model does a fairly good job of anticipating some of the crises in 1997/1998, but several weaknesses to the approach are identified. The paper also evaluates how this system can be applied to an individual country. On balance, the results in this paper are mixed, but the results suggest that an early warning system should be thought of as a useful diagnostic tool.
Women in cabinets

There is still relatively little research on what factors explain the share of women in cabinets across countries and time. Focusing on party ideology, we advance this budding research. First, we examine if heads of government from left-leaning and/or liberal parties tend to select a larger proportion female cabinet members than those from conservative parties. Second, we evaluate whether a switch toward a left-leaning or liberal government benefits women’s cabinet presence. We test both propositions empirically with a data set covering mainly Western and industrialized countries after 1968. Our statistical analysis only find lukewarm support for the first proposition, that is, left-wing parties are no longer more likely to nominate women to cabinet posts than other party families, particularly liberal parties. Rather, what we do find is that a change in government, regardless of whether the new formateur is left-wing, liberal, or conservative, benefits the nomination of women to cabinet posts.
Overexpression of IL-10 in C2D Macrophages Promotes a Macrophage Phenotypic Switch in Adipose Tissue Environments

Adipose tissue macrophages are a heterogeneous collection of classically activated (M1) and alternatively activated (M2) macrophages. Interleukin 10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine, secreted by a variety of cell types including M2 macrophages. We generated a macrophage cell line stably overexpressing IL-10 (C2D-IL10) and analyzed the C2D-IL10 cells for several macrophage markers after exposure to adipocytes compared to C2D cells transfected with an empty vector (C2D-vector). C2D-IL10 macrophage cells expressed more CD206 when co-cultured with adipocytes than C2D-vector cells; while the co-cultured cell mixture also expressed higher levels of Il4, Il10, Il1β and Tnf. Since regular C2D cells traffic to adipose tissue after adoptive transfer, we explored the impact of constitutive IL-10 expression on C2D-IL10 macrophages in adipose tissue in vivo. Adipose tissue-isolated C2D-IL10 cells increased the percentage of CD206+, CD301+, CD11c−CD206+ (M2) and CD11c+CD206+ (M1b) on their cell surface, compared to isolated C2D-vector cells. These data suggest that the expression of IL-10 remains stable, alters the C2D-IL10 macrophage cell surface phenotype and may play a role in regulating macrophage interactions with the adipose tissue.
PILOT STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING PIKA POPULATIONS IN THE NORTH CASCADES ECOSYSTEM FINAL REPORT

Richardson, for their numerous hours of hard work collecting data in the backcountry and diligence towards completing tasks necessary to get the job accomplished. Thanks to the North Cascades National Park Service Complex for support of the project, contributing to field data collection efforts, providing housing for the crew in the Newhalem Research Station, and providing backcountry permits. Specifically, thanks to
Numerical study of heat and moisture transfer in textile materials by a finite volume method

This paper focuses on the numerical study of heat and moisture transfer in clothing assemblies, based on a multi-component and multiphase flow model which includes heat/moisture convection and conduction/diffusion as well as phase change. A splitting semi-implicit finite volume method is proposed for solving a set of nonlinear convection-diffusion-reaction equations, in which the calculation of liquid water content absorbed by fiber is decoupled from the rest of the computation. The method maintains the conservation of air, vapor and heat flux (energy). Four types of clothing assemblies are investigated and comparison with experimental measurements are also presented. AMS subject classifications: 78M20, 65N22, 65N06
Low Schooling for Girls, Slower Growth for All? Cross-Country Evidence on the Effect of Gender Inequality in Education on Economic Development

Using cross-country and panel regressions, this article investigates how gender inequality in education affects long-term economic growth. Such inequality is found to have an effect on economic growth that is robust to changes in specifications and controls for potential endogeneities. The results suggest that gender inequality in education directly affects economic growth by lowering the average level of human capital. In addition, growth is indirectly affected through the impact of gender inequality on investment and population growth. Some 0.4-0.9 percentage points of differences in annual per capita growth rates between East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East can be accounted for by differences in gender gaps in education between these regions.
Sentence comprehension and general working memory

Although the role of working memory in sentence comprehension has received substantial attention, the nature of this relationship remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction between general, nonverbal working memory (WM) and sentence parsing (SP) in normal English‐speaking adults. Accuracy and reaction times were recorded for thirty‐one young adults during three on‐line tasks: nonverbal WM, SP plausibility, and lexical decision (LD). A significant positive correlation was observed between reaction times for WM and SP, but not between LD and SP. These results suggest that SP may be supported by a general WM capacity, and therefore, some sentence comprehension difficulties observed in the clinical population may potentially be related to impairment in general WM.
Evaluation of a Low-Cost GPS Receiver for Precision Agriculture Use in Adana Province of Turkey

The most vital factor in the application of precision agriculture technology is the cost of the required high-technology equipment. The equipment cost is the major obstacle in adopting the precision agriculture. GPS receiver is one of the most essential tools with high initial costs in this technology. The aim of this study was to evaluate a low-cost GPS receiver in 3 different tests including static, dynamic circular area, and dynamic straight line tests. It was observed that the tested low-cost GPS receiver yielded a deviation of less than 1.50 m, 1.60 m, and 1.48 m in static, circular area, and straight line tests, respectively. It can be concluded that the low-cost GPS receiver without differential correction can be used for variable fertilizer application and soil and yield mapping since it has an appropriate accuracy values for these applications. On the other hand, it would not be suitable for some precision agriculture applications that require an accuracy of less than 1 m such as variable herbicide application and row crop planting. Instead, a GPS receiver with differential correction service should be employed for such applications. In addition, the mean percent error values were -1.3% and -0.5% in all tests in the circle area calculation. These values can be considered to be acceptable for the field area calculation studies.
When politicians go native: The consequences of political native advertising for citizens’ trust in news

Declining revenues from offline and online ads has led publishers to pursue new avenues, such as native advertising: camouflaging ads as news. Critics of native advertising claim that this form of advertising blurs the boundaries between editorial and commercial content, and can reduce the audiences’ trust in editorial content. However, little research has assessed the possible effects of native ads on audiences’ trust in news. With an experimental design embedded in an online survey (N = 733) representative of the Norwegian population, this study explores the consequences of political native advertising for citizens’ trust in political news. This article discusses how political native advertising poses a challenge to the boundary between journalism and advertising as well as the boundary between journalism and powerful elites. Our study examines (1) how prominently native advertisements should be labelled in order for readers to recognize them as advertising content and (2) whether exposure to such ads reduces readers’ trust in political news. Our most important finding shows that when explicitly labelled, native advertising by political parties can reduce people’s trust in political news.
Methodological approaches to comparing pedagogical innovations using technology

The study of educational innovations has become increasingly important in education research as many countries around the world have embarked on education reforms that aim to change both the goals and practices in education. Studies of models of innovation, evaluations of the impact or outcome of innovations as well as the processes of organizational change are the key approaches taken in this area of research. Understandably, the specific goals and processes involved in each innovation are strongly dependent on the respective institutional, socio-cultural and national contexts and priorities. It is thus not surprising that comparative studies of innovations are relatively rare.
Facilitation of acetylcholine release and cognitive performance by an M(2)-muscarinic receptor antagonist in aged memory-impaired

Aged memory-impaired (AI) and unimpaired (AU) 24–25-month-old Long- Evans rats were used to investigate the integrity of various cholinergic markers during normal aging and to establish if alterations can possibly relate to cognitive disabilities. AI and AU rats were classified on the basis of their performance in the Morris swim maze task. Choline acetyltransferase activity (ChAT) was not differentially altered in various cortical and hippocampal areas between these two groups. Similarly, quantitative receptor autoradiography did not reveal significant differences in 3H-pirenzepine/muscarinic M1 and 3H- hemicholinium-3/high-affinity choline uptake binding sites in AI versus AU rats. In contrast, 3H-AF-DX 384/putative muscarinic M2 binding was significantly increased in certain cortical and hippocampal areas of the age-impaired animals. These increments were correlated with decreased in vivo acetylcholine (ACh) release capacity in the AI rats. Most interestingly, the muscarinic M2 antagonist BIBN-99 reversed, in a dose-dependent manner, the impaired ACh release as well as the cognitive deficits observed in the AI group. Similarly, BIBN-99 reversed scopolamine-induced amnesia in young animals. The efficacy of BIBN-99 likely relates to its antagonistic properties on negative muscarinic M2 autoreceptors that are apparently increased in the AI animals, leading to altered ACh release. Taken together, these findings strengthen the role of ACh in learning and memory and may have implications for the treatment of degenerative disorders associated with impaired cholinergic functions, such as Alzheimer's disease.
Modelling elasticity and memory effects in liquid crystalline elastomers by molecular dynamics simulations

We performed molecular dynamics simulations of a liquid crystal elastomer of side-chain architecture. The network is formed from a melt of 28 molecules each having a backbone of 100 hydrocarbon monomers, to which 50 side chains are attached in a syndiotactic way. Crosslinking is performed in the smectic A phase. We observe an increase of the smectic–isotropic phase transition temperature of about 5 degrees as compared to the uncrosslinked melt. Memory effects in liquid crystalline order and in sample shape are well reproduced when the elastomer is driven through the smectic–isotropic transition. Above this transition, in the isotropic phase, the polydomain smectic phase is induced by a uniaxial load. Below the transition, in a monodomain smectic A phase, both experimentally observed effects of homogeneous director reorientation and stripe formation are reproduced when the sample is stretched along the director. When the load is applied perpendicularly to the director, the sample demonstrates reversible deformation with no change of liquid crystalline order, indicating elasticity of the two-dimensional network of polymer layers.
A benchmark for robustness analysis of visual tracking algorithms

In this study, we investigate the robustness of existing visual tracking algorithms with quality-degraded video. A video database including the reference video sequences and their distorted versions is created as the benchmark for robustness analysis of visual tracking algorithms. Ten existing visual tracking algorithms are used to conduct the experiments for robustness analysis based on the benchmark. Our initial investigation demonstrates that all the existing visual tracking algorithms cannot obtain the robust visual tracking results for quality-degraded video sequences. The experimental results in this study show that there is still much room for the design of robust visual tracking algorithms.
Isochromosome 17q Is a Negative Prognostic Factor in Poor-Risk Childhood Medulloblastoma Patients

Background: Medulloblastomas are the most common primary malignant childhood intracranial neoplasms. Patients are currently sorted into three risk groups based on clinical criteria: standard, poor, and infant (<18 months old). We hypothesized that genetic copy number aberrations (CNA) predict prognosis and would provide improved criteria for predicting outcome. Methods: DNA from 35 medulloblastoma patients from four Children's Cancer Group trials was analyzed by comparative genomic hybridization to determine CNAs. The genetic alterations were evaluated using statistical and cluster analyses. Results: The most frequent CNAs were gains on 17q, 7, 1q, and 7q and losses on 17p, 10q, X, 16q, and 11q. Amplification at 5p15.1-p15.3 was also detected. Isochromosome 17q (i(17)(q10)) was associated with poor overall survival (P = 0.03) and event-free survival (P = 0.04) independent of poor risk group classification. Age <3 tended to be associated with <3 CNAs (P = 0.06). Unsupervised cluster analysis sorted the study patients into four subgroups based on CNAs. Supervised analysis using the program Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM) quantitatively validated those CNAs identified by unsupervised clustering that significantly distinguished among the four subgroups. Conclusions: Medulloblastomas are genetically heterogeneous and can be categorized into separate genetic subgroups by their CNAs using unsupervised cluster analysis and SAM. i(17)(q10) was a significant independent negative prognostic factor. Infant medulloblastomas may be a distinct genetic subset from those of older patients.
Statistical Modeling of the Speech Signal

The Gaussian distribution is the most commonly used statistical model of the speech signal. In this paper we propose more general statistical model for the distributions of the real and imaginary parts of the speech signal DFT coefficients and their magnitudes. Based on experimental measurements with the TIMIT database we have shown that the Generalized Gaussian Distribution holds well across frequency and audio frame size. A Weibull distribution is proposed to model the statistical behavior of the speech signal amplitude in the frequency domain. Estimation of the distribution parameters from experimental measurements corresponds well to the distribution of the real and imaginary parts. We propose and evaluate several statistical models of various complexities. Overall these statistical models fit the actual measurements with a Jensen-Shannon divergence below 0.0012 for real and imaginary parts and below 0.003 for magnitudes. The results presented in this paper are applicable for improving speech processing algorithms based on statistical signal processing. Keywords-speech statistical model, generalized Gaussian distribution, Weibull distribution.
Probing Novel Scalar and Tensor Interactions from (Ultra)Cold Neutrons to the LHC

Scalar and tensor interactions were once competitors to the now well-established V-A structure of the Standard Model weak interactions. We revisit these interactions and survey constraints from low-energy probes (neutron, nuclear, and pion decays) as well as collider searches. Currently, the most stringent limit on scalar and tensor interactions arise from 0+ -> 0+ nuclear decays and the radiative pion decay pi -> e nu gamma, respectively. For the future, we find that upcoming neutron beta decay and LHC measurements will compete in setting the most stringent bounds. For neutron beta decay, we demonstrate the importance of lattice computations of the neutron-to-proton matrix elements to setting limits on these interactions, and provide the first lattice estimate of the scalar charge and a new average of existing results for the tensor charge. Data taken at the LHC is currently probing these interactions at the 10^-2 level (relative to the standard weak interactions), with the potential to reach the 10^-3 level. We show that, with some theoretical assumptions, the discovery of a charged spin-0 resonance decaying to an electron and missing energy implies a lower limit on the strength of scalar interactions probed at low energy.