Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Scarf is Ppad-Complete

Scarf's lemma is one of the fundamental results in combinatorics, originally introduced to study the core of an N-person game. Over the last four decades, the usefulness of Scarf's lemma has been demonstrated in several important combinatorial problems seeking "stable" solutions. However, the complexity of the computational version of Scarf's lemma (SCARF) remained open. In this paper, we prove that SCARF is complete for the complexity class PPAD. This proves that SCARF is as hard as the computational versions of Brouwer's fixed point theorem and Sperner's lemma. Hence, there is no polynomial-time algorithm for SCARF unless PPAD \subseteq P. We also show that fractional stable paths problem and finding strong fractional kernels in digraphs are PPAD-hard.
Gestation increases the energetic cost of breathing in the lizard Tiliqua rugosa

SUMMARY High gestational loads result in fetuses that occupy a large proportion of the body cavity and may compress maternal organs. Compression of the lungs results in alterations in breathing patterns during gestation, which may affect the energetic cost of breathing. In this study, the energetic cost of breathing during gestation was determined in the viviparous skink Tiliqua rugosa. Radiographic imaging showed progressive lung compression during gestation and a 30% reduction in the lung inflation index (rib number at which the caudal margin of the lung was imaged divided by total rib number). Pneumotachography and open flow respirometry were used to measure breathing patterns and metabolic rates. Gestation induced a twofold increase in minute ventilation via increases in breathing frequency, but no change in inspired tidal volume. The rates of O2 consumption and CO2 production did not change significantly during gestation. Together, these results suggest that a relative hyperventilation occurs during gestation in T. rugosa, which in turn suggests that diffusion and/or perfusion limitations may exist at the lung during gestation. The energetic cost of breathing was estimated as a percentage of resting metabolic rate using hypercapnia to stimulate ventilation at different stages of pregnancy. The energetic cost of breathing in non-pregnant lizards was 19.96±3.85% of resting metabolic rate and increased threefold to 62.80±10.11% during late gestation. This significant increase in the energetic cost of breathing may have significant consequences for energy budgets during gestation.
Population dynamics and prevalence of influenza A viruses in Mallard, Mute Swan and other wildfowl

The spread of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) sub-type H5N1 has been an issue of international concern. This spread presents a serious threat to domestic poultry and a potentially serious risk to human health. It is also an issue which could potentially have consequences for populations of wild birds and other animal species of conservation concern. As wildfowl (ducks, swans and geese) and several other aquatic species have been known for some time to be the natural reservoir of avian influenza (AI) viruses (Munster et al. 2007), potential effects of AI on populations of this avian group are of interest.
An Integrated Face–Body Representation in the Fusiform Gyrus but Not the Lateral Occipital Cortex

Faces and bodies are processed by distinct category-selective brain areas. Neuroimaging studies have so far presented isolated faces and headless bodies, and therefore little is known on whether and where faces and headless bodies are grouped together to one object, as they appear in the real world. The current study examined whether a face presented above a body are represented as two separate images or as an integrated face–body representation in face and body-selective brain areas by employing a fMRI competition paradigm. This paradigm has been shown to reveal higher fMRI response to sequential than simultaneous presentation of multiple stimuli (i.e., the competition effect), indicating competitive interactions among simultaneously presented multiple stimuli. We therefore hypothesized that if a face above a body is integrated to an image of a person whereas a body above a face is represented as two separate objects, the competition effect will be larger for the latter than the former. Consistent with our hypothesis, our findings reveal a competition effect when a body is presented above a face, but not when a face is presented above a body, suggesting that a body above a face is represented as two separate objects whereas a face above a body is represented as an integrated image of a person. Interestingly, this integration of a face and a body to an image of a person was found in the fusiform, but not the lateral-occipital face and body areas. We conclude that faces and bodies are processed separately at early stages and are integrated to a unified image of a person at mid-level stages of object processing.
A Cooperative Evolutionary Algorithm Based on Particle Swarm Optimization and Simulated Annealing Algorithm

Abstract The paper proposes a cooperative evolutionary algorithm based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) and simulated annealing algorithm (SA). The method makes full use of the local convergent performance of PSO and the global convergent performance of SA, and can validly overcome the premature problem in PSO through cooperative search between PSO and SA. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm owns a good globally convergent performance with a faster convergent rate. Moreover, theoretical analysis has been made to prove that the algorithm can converge to the global optimum with probability 1.
Low Cognitive Impulsivity Is Associated with Better Gain and Loss Learning in a Probabilistic Decision-Making Task

Many advances have been made over the last decades in describing, on the one hand, the link between reward-based learning and decision-making, and on the other hand, the link between impulsivity and decision-making. However, the association between reward-based learning and impulsivity remains poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the association between individual differences in loss-minimizing and gain-maximizing behavior in a learning-based probabilistic decision-making task and individual differences in cognitive impulsivity. We found that low cognitive impulsivity was associated both with a better performance minimizing losses and maximizing gains during the task. These associations remained significant after controlling for mathematical skills and gender as potential confounders. We discuss potential mechanisms through which cognitive impulsivity might interact with reward-based learning and decision-making.
Response time in 14-year-olds with language impairment.

PURPOSE To determine whether children with language impairment were slower than typically developing peers at age 14, and whether slowing, if present, was similar across task domains; whether differences in response time (RT) across domains were the same for children with specific language impairment (SLI) and nonspecific language impairment (NLI); and whether RT performance at age 9 predicted performance at age 14. METHOD Fourteen-year-old children with SLI (n = 20), NLI (n = 15), and typical development (NLD; n = 31) were administered several linguistic and nonlinguistic speeded tasks. The children had received the same tasks at age 9. RT performance was examined. RESULTS Both the SLI and the NLI groups were significantly slower than the NLD group in motor, nonverbal cognitive, and language task domains, and there was no significant difference among domains. Individual analyses showed that most, but not all, children with SLI and NLI were slower than the NLD group mean. Slowing at age 9 and age 14 were moderately correlated. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that slow RT is a persistent characteristic of many children with language impairment; however, the nature of the relationship between RT and language performance requires further investigation.
Significance of delayed primary excision in localized nonmetastatic adult head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma

Adult rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a highly aggressive tumor. Multidisciplinary treatment is important. However, the role of surgery is controversial. The purpose of this study was to reveal the role of a delayed primary excision (DPE) after induction chemotherapy (IC) in localized nonmetastatic adult head and neck RMS. We retrospectively reviewed 24 adult head and neck RMS. Treatment was classified into the following two groups: the DPE group, who received IC followed by surgery, postoperative radiotherapy, and adjuvant chemotherapy (17 patients); the chemoradiotherapy (CRT) group, who received IC followed by chemoradiotherapy (seven patients). We analyzed the efficacy of IC, local control rate (LCR), and overall survival (OS). In the DPE group, 10 patients (59%) underwent complete surgical resection. In the evaluation of the surgical specimens, 14 patients (82%) had residual viable tumors after IC. The response to IC was significantly associated with the 3‐year LCR (CR/PR vs. SD/PD: 100% vs. 33%, P = 0.0014). In patients with good response to chemotherapy, the DPE group had a significantly better 3‐year LCR compared with that of the CRT group (DPE group vs. CRT group, 100% vs. 44%, P = 0.018). However, the treatment modalities were not associated with OS (DPE group vs. CRT group, 65% vs. 57%: P = 0.98). The recurrence patterns differed according to treatments, and distant metastases were more frequent in the DPE group. DPE may impact local control of localized nonmetastatic adult head and neck RMS. Poor response to IC is a risk factor for local recurrence.
Structure of large random hypergraphs

The theme of this paper is the derivation of analytic formulae for certain large combinatorial structures. The formulae are obtained via fluid limits of pure jump-type Markov processes, established under simple conditions on the Laplace transforms of their Levy kernels. Furthermore, a related Gaussian approximation allows us to describe the randomness which may persist in the limit when certain parameters take critical values. Our method is quite general, but is applied here to vertex identifiability in random hypergraphs. A vertex v is identifiable in n steps if there is a hyperedge containing v all of whose other vertices are identifiable in fewer steps. We say that a hyperedge is identifiable if every one of its vertices is identifiable. Our analytic formulae describe the asymptotics of the number of identifiable vertices and the number of identifiable hyperedges for a Poisson(\beta) random hypergraph \Lambda on a set V of N vertices, in the limit as N\to \infty. Here \beta is a formal power series with nonnegative coefficients \beta_0,\beta_1,. , and (\Lambda(A))_{A\subseteq V} are independent Poisson random variables such that \Lambda(A), the number of hyperedges on A, has mean N\beta_j/\pmatrixN j whenever |A|=j.
The Role of e-Commerce Awareness on Increasing Electronic Trust

It is not long ago that e-commerce service has turned to be one of the most important applications of the Internet and www. In all aspects of human life, especially in business activity, the application of ICT is so strong that in near future, the world will witness inevitability of this technology in most of the daily issues. Regardless of its technological advantages in the areas of increasing speed, accuracy, ease and dramatic reduction of transaction or processing costs, many challenges and application barriers are continuously faced by its users. Concerns such as users' privacy breaches, ensuring the accuracy, original identification of the buyers and sellers, confidentiality provision cause discomfort and distress an individual during cyberspace transaction or deal. And the achievement of the desired level of confidence in the abilities and capabilities of the other side and performance endanger the system. The increased level of awareness and the security culture of the cyberspace application enhance relative peace of an individual while being in the virtual space or in the process of e-commerce. The resulting comfort helps a person to identify and belief in the capabilities of the opposite side or system and their adherence to the commercial, behavioral, legal and technical principles connected to right deals. In cyberspace under discussion, this identification or situation is corresponding with electronic trust. E-Trust is the pillar of E-commerce. This article will discuss the role of e-commerce awareness in increasing the electronic trust. (Issa Najafi. The Role of e-Commerce Awareness on Increasing Electronic Trust. Life Sci J 2012;9(4):1487- 1494) (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 226
Discursive opportunity structures in post-handover Hong Kong localism: the China factor and beyond

The discourses of localism have been redefining the political spectrum, cultural practices, and identity politics of Hong Kong. A growing body of literature considers how China’s domination has fueled the rise of localism in Hong Kong. Drawing on the content and textual analyses of news media and other empirical evidence, this article scrutinizes the opportunity structure in post-handover Hong Kong to show that it facilitates the formation of localist discourses. It situates the localism of Hong Kong as the response to the social changes and China’s encroachment on the city in the post-handover years. Specifically, it focuses on the emergence of progressive localism prior to the recent deterioration of the China–Hong Kong relationship, the radicalization of social movements, and the continuing effects of critical post-handover events in Hong Kong. The study re-conceptualizes the localism of Hong Kong from the central–peripheral tension arising from China’s hegemony to the dynamic discursive formation of an evolving post-colonial city.
Two-dimensional physics-based modeling of dopant-segregated Schottky barrier UTB MOSFETs

In this paper, we present an analytical modeling approach to predict the tunneling and thermionic current of Schottky barrier UTB MOSFETs with dopant-segregated source and drain junctions. Essential 2D effects on the currents are included in the model which are combined with diffusion effects in the channel region. The model is compared with measurement data for a dopant segregated fully-depleted Schottky barrier MOSFET and is in a good agreement.
Dynamic Capital Structure with Callable Debt and Debt Renegotiations

We consider a dynamic trade-off model of a firm's capital structure with debt renegotiation. Debt holders only accept restructuring offers from equity holders backed by threats which are in the equity holders' own interest to execute. Our model shows that in a complete information model in which taxes and bankruptcy costs are the only frictions, violations of the absolute priority rule (APR) are typically optimal. The size of the bankruptcy costs and the equity holders' bargaining power affect the size of APR violations, but they have only a minor impact on the choice of capital structure.
On Two Quantum Approaches to Adaptive Mutations in Bacteria

The phenomenon of adaptive mutations has been attracting attention of biologists for several decades as challenging the basic premise of the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology. Two approaches, based on the quantum theoretical principles (QMAMs - Quantum Models of Adaptive Mutations) have been proposed in order to explain this phenomenon. In the present work, they are termed Q-cell and Q-genome approaches and are compared using ‘fluctuation trapping’ mechanism as a general framework. Notions of R-error and D-error are introduced, and it is argued that the ‘fluctuation trapping model’ can be considered as a QMAM only if it employs a correlation between the R- and D-errors. It is shown that the model of McFadden & Al-Khalili (1999) cannot qualify as a QMAM, as it corresponds to the 'D-error only' model. Further, the paper compares how the Q-cell and Q-genome approaches can justify the R-D-error correlation, focusing on the advantages of the Q-cell approach. The positive role of environmentally induced decoherence (EID) on both steps of the adaptation process in the framework of the Q-cell approach is emphasized. A starving bacterial cell is proposed to be in an einselected state. The intracellular dynamics in this state has a unitary character and is proposed to be interpreted as ‘exponential growth in imaginary time’, analogously to the commonly considered ‘diffusion’ interpretation of the Schroedinger equation. Addition of a substrate leads to Wick rotation and a switch from ‘imaginary time’ reproduction to a ‘real time’ reproduction regime. Due to the variations at the genomic level (such as base tautomery), the starving cell has to be represented as a superposition of different components, all ‘reproducing in imaginary time’. Any addition of a selective substrate, allowing only one of these components to amplify, will cause Wick rotation and amplification of this component, thus justifying the occurrence of the R-D-error correlation. Further ramifications of the proposed ideas for evolutionary theory are discussed.
Differential contribution of TRPM4 and TRPM5 nonselective cation channels to the slow afterdepolarization in mouse prefrontal cortex neurons

In certain neurons from different brain regions, a brief burst of action potentials can activate a slow afterdepolarization (sADP) in the presence of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonists. The sADP, if suprathreshold, can contribute to persistent non-accommodating firing in some of these neurons. Previous studies have characterized a Ca2+-activated non-selective cation (CAN) current (ICAN) that is thought to underlie the sADP. ICAN depends on muscarinic receptor stimulation and exhibits a dependence on neuronal activity, membrane depolarization and Ca2+-influx similar to that observed for the sADP. Despite the widespread occurrence of sADPs in neurons throughout the brain, the molecular identity of the ion channels underlying these events, as well as ICAN, remains uncertain. Here we used a combination of genetic, pharmacological and electrophysiological approaches to characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying the muscarinic receptor-dependent sADP in layer 5 pyramidal neurons of mouse prefrontal cortex. First, we confirmed that in the presence of the cholinergic agonist carbachol a brief burst of action potentials triggers a prominent sADP in these neurons. Second, we confirmed that this sADP requires activation of a PLC signaling cascade and intracellular calcium signaling. Third, we obtained direct evidence that the transient receptor potential (TRP) melastatin 5 channel (TRPM5), which is thought to function as a CAN channel in non-neural cells, contributes importantly to the sADP in the layer 5 neurons. In contrast, the closely related TRPM4 channel may play only a minor role in the sADP.
On not remembering disfluencies

Disfluencies repetitions and reformulations midsentence in normal spontaneous speech are problematic for both psychological and computational models of speech understanding. Much effort is being applied to finding ways of adapting computational systems to detect and delete disfluencies. The input to such systems is usually an accurate transcription. We present results of an experiment in which human listeners are asked to give verbatim transcriptions of disfluent and fluent utterances. These suggest that listeners are seldom able to identify all the words “deleted” in disfluencies. While all types suffer, identification rates for repetitions are even worse than for other types. We attribute the results to difficulties in recall or coding for recall items which can not be identified with certainty. This inability seems to make human speech recognition more robust than current computational models.
Perceptions of elementary teachers on the characteristics of gifted students in general versus gifted Hispanic limited English proficient students

OF THE DISSERTATION Perceptions of Elementary Teachers on the Characteristics of Gifted Students in General Versus Gifted Hispanic Limited English Proficient Students by Alberto T. Ferndndez Florida International University, 1995 Miami, Florida Professor Marisal Reyes Gavilan, Major Professor The purpose of the study was to determine whether teachers' perceptions of characteristics of gifted students in general differed from perceptions of gifted students classified as Hispanic and limited English proficient. The study also sought to determine whether the teachers' perceptions differed based on their ethnic backgrounds. Three-hundred seventy-three teachers from nine elementary schools in Dade County, Florida completed a 34-item Likerttype survey on gifted characteristics. The survey contained an open-ended question at the end to elicit comments beyond those covered by the items. Randomly, one-half of the teachers in each school received the survey labeled "Gifted Hispanic LEP" and the other half received the survey labeled "Gifted. " Subjects were not made aware that they were given
Altered Basal Ganglia Network Integration in Schizophrenia

The basal ganglia involve in a range of functions that are disturbed in schizophrenia patients. This study decomposed the resting-state data of 28 schizophrenia patients and 31 healthy controls with spatial independent component analysis and identified increased functional integration in the bilateral caudate nucleus in schizophrenia patients. Further, the caudate nucleus in patients showed altered functional connection with the prefrontal area and cerebellum. These results identified the importance of basal ganglia in schizophrenia patients. Clinical Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. Registration number ChiCTR-RCS-14004878.
Prospect Theory and International Relations: Theoretical Applications and Analytical Problems

In this essay I evaluate the potential contribution of prospect theory to our understanding of international relations. I begin with the implications of loss aversion, the endowment effect, risk orientation, and framing for theoretical questions relating to the stability of the status quo in international politics, deterrence, bargaining, and preventive war. I then raise conceptual and methodological problems which complicate the theoretical and empirical application of prospect theory to international behavior. I illustrate my arguments with references to some recent attempts to use a prospect theory framework to guide case studies of crises decision-making. I conclude that in applying prospect theory to empirical cases, the analyst must demonstrate not only that empirical behavior is consistent with the theory but also that the observed behavior cannot adequately be explained by a rational choice model which posits the maximization of expected value.
A Subgroup of Latently Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infected Individuals Is Characterized by Consistently Elevated IgA Responses to Several Mycobacterial Antigens

Elevated antibody responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens in individuals with latent infection (LTBI) have previously been linked to an increased risk for progression to active disease. Studies in the field focussed mainly on IgG antibodies. In the present study, IgA and/or IgG responses to the mycobacterial protein antigens AlaDH, NarL, 19 kDa, PstS3, and MPT83 were determined in a blinded fashion in sera from 53 LTBI controls, 14 healthy controls, and 42 active TB subjects. Among controls, we found that elevated IgA levels against all investigated antigens were not randomly distributed but concentrated on a subgroup of <30%—with particular high levels in a small subgroup of ~5% comprising one progressor to active TB. Based on a specificity of 100%, anti-NarL IgA antibodies achieved with 78.6% sensitivity the highest accuracy for the detection of active TB compared to healthy controls. In conclusion, the consistently elevated IgA levels in a subgroup of controls suggest higher mycobacterial load, a risk factor for progression to active TB, and together with high IgG levels may have prognostic potential and should be investigated in future large scale studies. The novel antigen NarL may also be promising for the antibody-based diagnosis of active TB cases.