Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of LOGO on gifted children's achievement and creativity

It was hypothesised that problem solving via the Arabic logo programming environment would enhance gifted children's mathematics achievement and their creativity as measured by their performance on Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) and Mathematical Skills Assessment (MSA). The study findings extend previous research by indicating that problem solving via the LOGO programming environment can enhance mathematics achievement and creativity in figural, as well as verbal, domains. The evaluation of a large number of previous studies on the enhancement of creativity concluded that many of these studies have a positive effect. An implication is that computer environments may offer appropriate special provisions to meet the special needs of gifted children. In addition, this experiment provided some evidence that if gifted children work in pairs the need for teacher intervention to motivate the children is decreased. Also, if gifted children choose their own goals this increases their motivation and task commitment but might also restrict the range of mathematical ideas used.
Barcelona Economics Working Paper Series Are Agent-based Simulations Robust? the Wholesale Electricity Trading Case Are Agent-based Simulations Robust? the Wholesale Electricity Trading Case * Albert Banal-estanol †

Agent-based computational economics is becoming widely used in practice. This paper explores the consistency of some of its standard techniques. We focus in particular on prevailing wholesale electricity trading simulation methods. We include different supply and demand representations and propose the Experience-Weighted Attractions method to include several behavioural algorithms. We compare the results across assumptions and to economic theory predictions. The match is good under best-response and reinforcement learning but not under fictitious play. The simulations perform well under flat and upward-slopping supply bidding, and also for plausible demand elasticity assumptions. Learning is influenced by the number of bids per plant and the initial conditions. The overall conclusion is that agent-based simulation assumptions are far from innocuous. We link their performance to underlying features, and identify those that are better suited to model wholesale electricity markets.
Driving by the seat of your pants: a new agenda for research

Recent research conducted by showing videos of the same road segments driven at different speeds to drivers showed that driver ratings of feelings of risk did not necessarily co-vary with ratings of statistical risk. However they do vary very closely with ratings of task difficulty. Task difficulty is very highly correlated with speed, and there is no relationship between statistical risk and speed at lower speeds. Feelings of risk were systematically related to speed. The role of feelings in decision making areexplored in relation to the somatic marker hypothesis and the agenda for future research into drivers' decisions on choice of speed and risk assessment. The role of driver age and experience is also considered. For the covering abstract see ITRD E157496
Finite‐volume methods for non‐linear elasticity in heterogeneous media

An approximate Riemann solver is developed for the equations of non‐linear elasticity in a heterogeneous medium, where each grid cell has an associated density and stress–strain relation. The non‐linear flux function is spatially varying and a wave decomposition of the flux difference across a cell interface is used to approximate the wave structure of the Riemann solution. This solver is used in conjunction with a high‐resolution finite‐volume method using the CLAWPACK software. As a test problem, elastic waves in a periodic layered medium are studied. Dispersive effects from the heterogeneity, combined with the non‐linearity, lead to solitary wave solutions that are well captured by the numerical method. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Commensurate scale relations in quantum chromodynamics.

We use the BLM method to directly relate perturbatively calculable QCD observables. The commensurate scale relations connecting the effective charges for observables A and B have the form αA(QA) = αB(QB) (1 + ΓA/B α B π + …), where the coefficient rA/B is independent of the number of flavors f contributing to coupling constant renormalization. The generalization of the BLM procedure to higher order assigns a different renormalization scale for each order in the perturbative series. The coefficients in the commensurate scale relation can be identified with those obtained in conformally-invariant gauge theory. The application of this procedure to perturbatively-calculable physical observables in QCD gives rather simple results. For example, the relation between the annihilation ratio Re+e−1 and the polarized Bjorken sum rule is given by α¾g1(Q) = α¾R(Q*) − α¾R2(Q**) + α¾R3(Q***), where α¾ = (3CF/4π)α. This relation provides the generalization of the Crewther relation to non-conformally invariant gauge theory.
Online reading as an individual and social practice

Kiili, Carita Online reading as an individual and social practice Jyvaskyla: University of Jyvaskyla, 2012, 72 p. (Jyvaskyla Studies in Education, Psychology and Social Research ISSN 0075-4625; 441) ISBN 978-951-39-4794-1 (nid.) ISBN 978-951-39-4795-8 (PDF) Finnish summary Diss. The aim of the study was to clarify how upper secondary school students locate and evaluate information and engage in content processing when they use the Internet as a source for writing an essay either in an individual or collaborative reading situation. Another aim was to illuminate how student pairs coconstruct meaning and knowledge when they read on the Internet in order to explore a controversial issue. Further, the study clarified how the construction of an argument graph promotes students’ collaborative online reading. Two teaching experiments were arranged. In both experiments, the students were asked to write an essay on a given topic and search for source material for their essay on the Internet. In the first experiment, the students (n = 25) worked individually and in the second experiment the students (n = 76) worked in pairs. In the second experiment, the half of the students constructed an argument graph whereas half of the students took notes during online reading. Data consists of either think-aloud and interaction protocols, screen captures, and students’ essays. The quantitative-based qualitative approach was applied to analyze the data. The study found that some individual and collaborative readers had considerable difficulties in locating information. It was also found that the students more frequently evaluated the relevance of information than credibility of information in both individual and collaborative reading situation. Further, collaborative reading of online information, within an argumentative framework, seems to promote content processing that goes beyond simple gathering of facts. However, the differences in the way in which students interacted with one another were remarkable. When some students engaged in co-construction of meaning and knowledge, the other students had a stronger preference for working alone. Furthermore, the depth of content processing during online reading was related to the quality of students’ essays in both individual and collaborative reading situations. Finally, it was found that the construction of an argument graph may promote students’ collaborative online reading, in particular, their synthesizing processes.
Total Antioxidative Capacity Is Normal in Sera from Psoriasis Patients despite Elevated Bilirubin, Tocopherol and Urate Levels

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. Reactive oxygen species are thought to play a critical role in inflammation and are scavenged by antioxidants. Objective: We wanted to know whether the total antioxidative capacity or single antioxidative components in sera from psoriasis patients are decreased. Material and Methods: Well-known antioxidants of the serum were measured using commercial kits or determined by HPLC in the sera of 33 inpatients with severe psoriasis and in 36 healthy control persons. The total antioxidative capacity was measured using the ability of endogenous antioxidants to scavenge the 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation. Results: Several single antioxidative components were slightly elevated when considered groupwise, namely tocopherol (p = 0.001), bilirubin (p = 0.001) and urate which was increased over controls by about 33% (p= 0.01). Other parameters such as total protein and thiol content and ascorbic acid did not differ from controls. Conclusion: To our surprise the total antioxidative activity was normal in sera from psoriasis patients although some components such as urate were even elevated.
Personality traits in established schizophrenia: aspects of usability and differences between patients and controls using the Swedish universities Scales of Personality

Abstract Background: Personality is considered as an important aspect that can affect symptoms and social function in persons with schizophrenia. The personality questionnaire Swedish universities Scales of Personality (SSP) has not previously been used in psychotic disorder. Aims: To investigate if SSP has a similar internal consistency and factor structure in a psychosis population as among healthy controls and if patients with psychotic disorders differ from non-psychotic individuals in their responses to the SSP. Methods: Patients with psychotic disorders (n = 107) and healthy controls (n = 119) completed SSP. SSP scores were analyzed for internal consistency and case-control differences by Cronbach’s alfa and multiple analysis of covariance, respectively. Results: Internal consistencies among patients were overall similar to that of controls. The patients scored significantly higher in seven (Somatic trait anxiety, Psychic trait anxiety, Stress susceptibility, Lack of assertiveness, Detachment, Embitterment, Mistrust) and lower in three (Physical trait aggression, Verbal trait aggression, Adventure seeking) of the 13 scales of the inventory. In three scales (Impulsiveness, Social desirability and Trait irritability) there was no significant difference between the scoring of patients and healthy controls. Conclusion: The reliability estimates suggest that SSP can be used by patients with psychotic disorders in stable remission. Patients score higher on neuroticism-related scales and lower on aggression-related scales than controls, which is in accordance with earlier studies where other personality inventories were used.
Site-Specific Atherogenic Gene Expression Correlates With Subsequent Variable Lesion Development in Coronary and Peripheral Vasculature

Objectives—The relationship between specific gene regulation and subsequent development and progression of atherosclerosis is incompletely understood. We hypothesized that genes in the vasculature related to cholesterol metabolism, inflammation, and insulin signaling pathways are differentially regulated in a site-specific and time-dependent manner. Methods and Results—Expression of 59 genes obtained from coronary, carotid, and thoracic aortic arteries were characterized from diabetic (DM)/hypercholesterolemic (HC) swine (n=52) 1, 3, and 6 months after induction. Lesion development in the 3 arterial beds was quantified and characterized at 1, 3, 6, and 9 months. Progressive lesion development was observed in the coronary>thoracic aorta≫carotid arteries. Genes involved in cholesterol metabolism and insulin pathways were upregulated in coronaries>thoracic aortae>carotids. Inflammatory genes were more markedly upregulated in coronary arteries than the other 2 arteries. Genes implicated in plaque instability (eg, matrix metalloproteinase-9, CCL2 and Lp-PLA2 mRNAs) were only upregulated at 6 months in coronary arteries. Conclusions—Variable gene expression, both in regard to the arterial bed and duration of disease, was associated with variable plaque development and progression. These findings may provide further insight into the atherosclerotic process and development of potential therapeutic targets.
Prevalence of congenital anomalies in newborns with congenital heart disease diagnosis

Background: There is a known association between congenital heart disease (CHD) and other congenital anomalies (CA). These associations have been altered by changes in prenatal factors in recent time. We reviewed the largest database of inpatient hospitalization information and analyzed the current association between common CHD diagnoses and other congenital anomalies. Materials and Methods: Case-control study design. We reviewed the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 1998 to 2008 and identified all live births with CHD diagnosis (case) and live births without CHD diagnosis (control). We compared prevalence of associated congenital anomalies between the case and control groups. Results: Our cohort consisted of 97,154 and 12,078,482 subjects in the case and control groups, respectively. In the CHD population, prevalence of non-syndromic congenital anomaly (NSCA), genetic syndrome (GS), and overall extra-cardiac congenital anomaly (CA) were 11.4, 2.2, and 13.6%, respectively. In the control group, prevalence of NSCA, GS, and CA were 6.7, 0.3, and 7.0%, respectively. NSCA (odds ratio (OR): 1.88, confidence interval (CI): 1.73-1.94), GS (OR 2.52, CI 2.44-2.61), and overall CA (OR: 2.01, CI: 1.97-2.14) were strongly associated with CHD. Prevalence of GS and multiple organ-system CA decreased significantly over the study period. Conclusions: This is the largest and most comprehensive population-based study evaluating association between CHD and extra-cardiac malformation (ECM) in newborns. There was significant decrease in prevalence of GS and multiple CA over the study period.
Pairing audio speech and various visual displays: binding or not binding?

Recent findings demonstrate that audiovisual fusion during speech perception may involve pre-phonetic processing. The aim of the current experiment is to investigate this hypothesis using a pairing task between auditory sequences of vowels and non speech visual cues. The audio sequences are composed of 6 auditory French vowels alternating in pitch (or not) in order to build 2 interleaved streams of 3 vowels each. Various elementary visual displays are mounted in synchrony with one vowel stream out of the two. Our hypothesis is that, in a forced choice pairing task, the AV synchronized vowels will be found more frequently if such a perceptual binding operates. We show that the most efficient visual feature increasing pairing performance is the movement. Surprisingly, some features we manipulated do not provide the increase in pairing performances. The visual cue of contrast variation is not correctly paired with the synchronized auditory vowels. Moreover, the auditory segregation, based on the pitch difference between the vowels streams, has no additional effect on pairing. In addition, the modulation of the auditory envelop, synchronized with the variation of the visual cue, has also no effect. Finally, when we introduce a phonetic cue in the visual display, pairing increases in comparison with non specific visual cues. The relative contribution of perceptual binding and late phonetic fusion is discussed.
Comment on “Observation of the Wigner-Huntington transition to metallic hydrogen”

Dias and Silvera (Research Article, 17 February 2017, p. 715) report on the observation of the Wigner-Huntington transition to metallic hydrogen at 495 gigapascals at 5.5 and 83 kelvin. Here, we show that the claim of metallic behavior is not supported by the presented data, which are scarce, contradictory, and do not prove the presence of hydrogen in the high-pressure cavity.
Left ventricular‐arterial coupling in systemic hypertension: analysis by means of arterial effective and left ventricular elastances

Objective To clarify the spectrum of the left ventricular responses in hypertension in man by means of coupled analysis of elastances. In the present study we analysed the ‘functional’ coupling of the left ventricle and the arterial system in terms of the arterial effective elastance (Ea) divided by a value of end-systolic left ventricular elastance approximated by the end-systolic pressure-volume ratio (Elv) Methods Twenty-five normotensive and 19 hypertensive males without heart failure underwent a haemodynamic and angiographic study. The hypertensives were divided into three subgroups: group 1 had normal ejection fraction, group 2 had ejection fraction >70% and group 3 had ejection fraction 50–58%. Results The ejection fraction was similar in hypertensives and controls and Elv was significantly increased in the hypertensives. Ea was identical in the three hypertensive subgroups, which differed only for Elv. Hypertensives with a normal ejection fraction (n = 8) had a normal Ea/Elv ratio and end-systolic stress, and a significantly increased Elv, related mainly to an increase in the left ventricular mass divided by the end-diastolic volume (m/VED) with normal systolic function of the left ventricular muscle. The significantly increased systolic pump function of group 2 (n = 5) seems to be related to a significant increase in both m/VED and left ventricular muscle contractility. Group 3 (n = 6) was more heterogeneous, some patients having insufficient hypertrophy and others impaired muscle function. Conclusions The left ventricle and the arterial system remain correctly coupled in hypertensives overall, but with marked heterogeneity of the systolic pump (and sometimes muscle) function and mainly of the geometry of the left ventricle. Regarding the relatively unequivocal changes in Ea, the differences in ejection fraction and in left ventricular-arterial coupling in hypertensives are related mainly to changes in the left ventricular systolic pump function.
The myosin motor , Myo 4 p , binds Ash 1 mRNA via the adapter protein , She 3 p

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mRNA encoding the cell-fate determinant Ash1p is localized to the distal tip of daughter cells. Five SHE genes are required for proper Ash1 mRNA localization, one of which encodes the myosin Myo4p. We show that three of the five She proteins, She2p, She3p, and Myo4p, colocalize with Ash1 mRNA in vivo and coimmunoprecipitate with Ash1 mRNA from cell extracts. We also find that She3p binds to Myo4p in the absence of RNA and She2p is required for binding She3p-Myo4p to Ash1 mRNA. These results suggest that She3p acts as an adapter protein that docks the myosin motor onto an Ash1–She2p ribonucleoprotein complex.
FAR-FIELD DECOUPLED BASIS FOR THE METHOD OF MOMENTS-2D CASE

When solving electromagnetic problems, integral equation methods, such as the Method of Moments, are known to yield to dense matrix systems whose solution usually supposes an intensive computational cost. Continuous efforts have been developed to overcome this drawback. In this paper, the goal is to generate a set of basis functions defined over the entire domain and characterized by a null radiated power coupling in the far-field region. This behavior permits to diminish the density of unknowns per wavelength, considering only a reduced set of the new basis. Furthermore, the resulting matrix has a sparse structure. All these factors amounts to considerable savings in terms of computer storage and CPU requirements.
Optimum multi-objective reservoir operation with emphasis on flood control and ecology

Abstract. The objective is to present a reservoir management system which is capable of determining optimal operating rules both for flood event based and normal operation while at the same time attempting to achieve ecologically oriented operation. In order to maintain the variability of the natural flow regime, a new dynamic operating policy is introduced for normal operation. Flood event based operation is managed by a two-part step function. Both operating policies are optimized using a state-of-the-art multi-objective evolution strategy algorithm.
Dopamine-Dependent Long-Term Depression at Subthalamo-Nigral Synapses Is Lost in Experimental Parkinsonism

Impairments of synaptic plasticity are a hallmark of several neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD) which results from the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta leading to abnormal activity within the basal ganglia (BG) network and pathological motor symptoms. Indeed, disrupted plasticity at corticostriatal glutamatergic synapses, the gateway of the BG, is correlated to the onset of PD-related movement disorders and thus has been proposed to be a key neural substrate regulating information flow and motor function in BG circuits. However, a critical question is whether similar plasticity impairments could occur at other glutamatergic connections within the BG that would also affect the inhibitory influence of the network on the motor thalamus. Here, we show that long-term plasticity at subthalamo-nigral glutamatergic synapses (STN-SNr) sculpting the activity patterns of nigral neurons, the main output of the network, is also affected in experimental parkinsonism. Using whole-cell patch-clamp in acute rat brain slices, we describe a molecular pathway supporting an activity-dependent long-term depression of STN-SNr synapses through an NMDAR-and D1/5 dopamine receptor-mediated endocytosis of synaptic AMPA glutamate receptors. We also show that this plastic property is lost in an experimental rat model of PD but can be restored through the recruitment of dopamine D1/5 receptors. Altogether, our findings suggest that pathological impairments of subthalamo-nigral plasticity may enhance BG outputs and thereby contribute to PD-related motor dysfunctions.
Adaptive control optimisation system for minimising production cost in hard milling operations

This paper proposes an adaptive control with optimisation (ACO) methodology for optimising the production cost subjected to quality constraints in high-performance milling operations of hardened steel (58–62 HRC). Unlike traditional approaches for optimising production cost, this paper deals with optimising the cutting operation considering the current state of the cutting tool. Artificial intelligence techniques for modelling (artificial neural networks) and optimising (genetic algorithms and mesh adaptive direct search algorithms) are applied for this purpose. As a result, the production cost estimation from the proposed approach is 13% lower than the one obtained by the traditional approach with 76% less uncertainty.
Model‐based clustering of meta‐analytic functional imaging data

We present a method for the analysis of meta‐analytic functional imaging data. It is based on Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) and subsequent model‐based clustering using Gaussian mixture models, expectation‐maximization (EM) for model fitting, and the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) for model selection. Our method facilitates the clustering of activation maxima from previously performed imaging experiments in a hierarchical fashion. Regions with a high concentration of activation coordinates are first identified using ALE. Activation coordinates within these regions are then subjected to model‐based clustering for a more detailed cluster analysis. We demonstrate the usefulness of the method in a meta‐analysis of 26 fMRI studies investigating the well‐known Stroop paradigm. Hum Brain Mapp, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.