Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial Navigation Impairments Among Intellectually High-Functioning Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Exploring Relations With Theory of Mind, Episodic Memory, and Episodic Future Thinking

Research suggests that spatial navigation relies on the same neural network as episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and theory of mind (ToM). Such findings have stimulated theories (e.g., the scene construction and self-projection hypotheses) concerning possible common underlying cognitive capacities. Consistent with such theories, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by concurrent impairments in episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and ToM. However, it is currently unclear whether spatial navigation is also impaired. Hence, ASD provides a test case for the scene construction and self-projection theories. The study of spatial navigation in ASD also provides a test of the extreme male brain theory of ASD, which predicts intact or superior navigation (purportedly a systemizing skill) performance among individuals with ASD. Thus, the aim of the current study was to establish whether spatial navigation in ASD is impaired, intact, or superior. Twenty-seven intellectually high-functioning adults with ASD and 28 sex-, age-, and IQ-matched neurotypical comparison adults completed the memory island virtual navigation task. Tests of episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and ToM were also completed. Participants with ASD showed significantly diminished performance on the memory island task, and performance was positively related to ToM and episodic memory, but not episodic future thinking. These results suggest that (contra the extreme male brain theory) individuals with ASD have impaired survey-based navigation skills—that is, difficulties generating cognitive maps of the environment—and adds weight to the idea that scene construction/self-projection are impaired in ASD. The theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed.
Feature and score normalization for speaker verification of cellular data

This paper presents some experiments with feature and score normalization for text-independent speaker verification of cellular data. The speaker verification system is based on cepstral features and Gaussian mixture models with 1024 components. The following methods, which have been proposed for feature and score normalization, are reviewed and evaluated on cellular data: cepstral mean subtraction (CMS), variance normalization, feature warping, T-norm, Z-norm and the cohort method. We found that the combination of feature warping and T-norm gives the best results on the NIST 2002 test data (for the one-speaker detection task). Compared to a baseline system using both CMS and variance normalization and achieving a 0.410 minimal decision cost function (DCF), feature warping and T-norm respectively bring 8% and 12% relative reductions, whereas the combination of both techniques yields a 22% relative reduction, reaching a DCF of 0.320. This result approaches the state-of-the-art performance level obtained for speaker verification with land-line telephone speech.
Promoting awareness and regulation of social and affective behaviours during L2 speaking tasks through written reflection

Supervisory Committee Dr. Li-Shih Huang Supervisor Dr. Hossein Nassaji Departmental Member This small scale action research explored the use of guided written reflection as a means to assist learners to gain self-awareness of their social and affective strategic behaviours during classroom speaking tasks, to improve collaboration, and to increase oral output. Four research questions addressed: (1) the social and affective strategies learners use to complete classroom speaking tasks, (2) the changes in social and affective strategies that learners demonstrate in written reflections over four weeks, (3) whether there is a difference in the amount of oral output produced by the experimental group (EG) and the comparison group (CG), and (4) the EG group members’ perceptions of the reflection process. Two groups of English as an additional language (EAL) learners completed eight dyadic classroom speaking tasks. Immediately after completing each task, five EG participants responded in writing to questions in a reflection journal addressing emotions, vocabulary, interactions with interlocutors, and strategic goals; the six CG participants were not provided with the same opportunity to reflect. In the EG, over four weeks, the strategy justifying performance decreased, while complimenting increased. Although EG participants’ oral production did not increase, part E of Oxford’s (1989) SILL showed a significant increase in I encourage myself to speak. Of fourteen participants who completed a final anonymous questionnaire, 64% felt that the reflection process helped them to speak more, and 93% felt that it helped them to work effectively with their classmates. iv Table of
A comparison between Fluid Construction Grammar and Sign-Based Construction Grammar

Construction Grammar has reached a stage of maturity where many researchers are looking for an explicit formal grounding of their work. Recently, there have been exciting developments to cater for this demand, most notably in Sign-Based Construction Grammar (SBCG) and Fluid Construction Grammar (FCG). Unfortunately, like playing a music instrument, the formalisms used by SBCG and FCG take time and effort to master, and linguists who are unfamiliar with them may not always appreciate the far-reaching theoretical consequences of adopting this or that approach. This paper undresses SBCG and FCG to their bare essentials, and offers a linguist-friendly comparison that looks at how both approaches define constructions, linguistic knowledge and language processing.
The Tree of Life Project

Looking at the work that we have been doing with bereaved children and communities I realize that part of our problem was basing our practices on the western notions of catharsis, the idea that bereaved children and communities are not given platforms to express their grief and therefore have feelings and emotions trapped deep inside them which need to be vented out. We have for a long time seen ourselves as playing a role in providing the space for trapped feelings and emotions to come to surface. The reality of such expressions, however, has been clearly overwhelming for both the individuals that seek our help and the counsellors' providing support services. This paper documents a way of working with children using the 'Tree of Life' tool which we have adapted through our engagement with narrative ideas. Before I describe this, however, it maybe helpful for me to provide some background information about the work of Masiye Camp which is where we will be using this new way of working.
Inactivation of Glucocorticoid Receptor in Noradrenergic System Influences Anxiety- and Depressive-Like Behavior in Mice

The aim of this study was to investigate whether conditional inactivation of the glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) in noradrenergic neurons affects animal behavior in mice. Selective ablation of GRs in the noradrenergic system was achieved using the Cre/loxP approach. We crossed transgenic mice expressing the Cre recombinase under the dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) promoter with animals harboring the floxed GR gene. The resulting GRDBHCre mutant mice exhibited no alterations in terms of normal cage behavior, weight gain, spatial memory or spontaneous locomotor activity, regardless of gender. To assess depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors we performed the Tail Suspension Test and the Light-Dark Box Test. While male mutant animals did not show any alternations in both tests, female GRDBHCre mutants displayed depressive- and anxiety-like behavior. Additionally, male GRDBHCre mice were exposed to chronic restraint stress but still exhibited immobility times and anxiety statuses similar to those of non-stressed animals while stressed control mice clearly revealed depressive- and anxiety-like phenotype. Thus, in males the effects of the mutation were precipitated only after chronic restraint stress procedure. Our data reveal a possible gender-dependent role of GRs in the noradrenergic system in anxiety- and depressive-like behavior in mice.
A test suite for quantitative comparison of hydrodynamic codes in astrophysics

We test four commonly used astrophysical simulation codes, enzo, flash, gadget and hydra, using a suite of numerical problems with analytic initial and final states. Situations similar to the conditions of these tests, a Sod shock, a Sedov blast, and both a static and translating King sphere, occur commonly in astrophysics, where the accurate treatment of shocks, sound waves, supernovae explosions and collapsed haloes is a key condition for obtaining reliable validated simulations. We demonstrate that comparable results can be obtained for Lagrangian and Eulerian codes by requiring that approximately one particle exists per grid cell in the region of interest. We conclude that adaptive Eulerian codes, with their ability to place refinements in regions of rapidly changing density, are well suited to problems where physical processes are related to such changes. Lagrangian methods, on the other hand, are well suited to problems where large density contrasts occur and the physics are related to the local density itself rather than the local density gradient.
Humoral Immune Responses to Neisseria meningitidis in Children

ABSTRACT An understanding of the nature of immunity to serogroup B meningococci in childhood is necessary in order to establish the reasons for poor responses to candidate vaccines in infancy. We sought to examine the nature of humoral immune responses following infection in relation to age. Serum bactericidal activity was poor in children under 12 months of age despite recent infection with Neisseria meningitidis. The highest levels of bactericidal activity were seen in children over 10 years of age. However, infants produced levels of total immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgG subclass antibodies similar to those in older children in a meningococcal enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Most antibody was of the IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses. This striking age dependency of bactericidal antibody response following infection is not apparently due to failure of class switching in infants but might be due to qualitative differences in antibody specificity or affinity.
The effects of educational computer game on low-performing children’s early numeracy skills – an intervention study in a preschool setting

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the effects of an educational computer game, Lola’s World, on low-performing children’s early numeracy skills. Four preschools with 33 children from families of low socio-economic status (M age = 5.5 years) took part in this study. Of the 33 children, 23 were split randomly into two groups: an intervention group playing a numeracy game (Lola’s World) and an active control group playing an early reading skills game (Lola’s ABC party). The remaining 10 children served as a passive control group. The intervention phase lasted three weeks, during which time the children played the games daily for about 15 min. The children’s numeracy skills were measured using the Early Numeracy Test. Those children (n = 22) who exhibited low numeracy (i.e. at risk for learning difficulties in mathematics) were included in the analyses. The three groups did not differ in terms of parental educational levels or home languages. They were comparable in terms of nonverbal reasoning and the amount of time spent playing. The Lola’s World group improved its early numeracy performance from pretest to post-test. No between-group differences were found. The results are discussed in relation to providing game-based support for low-performing preschoolers.
Considering Equality on Distributed Constraint Optimization Problem for Resource Supply Network

Distributed resource allocation is an important application of multiagent systems. In this work, we focus on a resource allocation problem that is motivated from a power supply network that contains distributed sources. In the supply network, resources that are initially distributed among source nodes have to be shared among all nodes. The problem is formalized as a resource constrained distributed constraint optimization problem that is an extended class of distributed constraint optimization problems (DCOPs). In the formalization, cost functions represent preferences of agents on resource use. We specifically consider allocating the cost values to agents as evenly as possible. We present several methods to select optimal assignment in consideration of the equality. The characteristics of the proposed methods are experimentally evaluated. Employing histograms and distinguishing types are effective for reducing the variance while requiring high computational costs. The number of histograms is able to be limited without significant lack of the effects. The minimum-maximum cost value as the main objective reduces the number of iterations and histograms.
Microaggressions and Self-Esteem in Emerging Asian American Adults: The Moderating Role of Racial Socialization

The current study explores the moderating role of racial socialization in the relation between experiences of racial microaggressions and individual self-esteem and racial microaggressions and collective self-esteem for Asian American emerging adults. Asian American emerging adults (Mage = 23.83 years, SD = 2.83; N = 87) completed the Racial and Ethnic Microaggression Scale, the Perceived Racial Socialization Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Collective Self-Esteem Scale. Results suggest a negative correlation between racial microaggression experiences with both individual self-esteem, r = −. 34, p = . 001 and public self-esteem, r = −. 35, p = . 001, a component of collective self-esteem. Depending on type and level of message, racial socialization may serve as a protective factor in racial microaggressions and self-esteem relations. Specifically, results suggest a significant interaction when promotion of mistrust was tested as a moderator of the microaggressions–individual self-esteem relation (b = .063, SE = .026), t(86) = 2.47, p = . 015, where the relation between microaggressions and self-esteem was only significant at low and moderate levels of promotion of mistrust. Promotion of mistrust also moderated the microaggressions–private self-esteem relation (b = .045, SE = .02), t(86) = 2.30, p = . 024. However, when promotion of mistrust moderated this relation, the relation was nonsignificant at all levels (low, moderate, and high). An examination of simple slopes suggests a change in the direction of the relation between microaggressions and private self-esteem from negative for low and moderate levels of promotion of mistrust to positive for high levels of promotion of mistrust.
Neuronal Premotor Networks Involved in Eyelid Responses: Retrograde Transneuronal Tracing with Rabies Virus from the Orbicularis Oculi Muscle in the Rat

Retrograde transneuronal tracing with rabies virus from the right orbicularis oculi muscle was used to identify neural networks underlying spontaneous, reflex, and learned blinks. The kinetics of viral transfer was studied at sequential 12 hr intervals between 3 and 5 d after inoculation. Rabies virus immunolabeling was combined with the immunohistochemical detection of choline acetyltransferase expression in brainstem motoneurons or Fluoro-Ruby injections in the rubrospinal tract. Virus uptake involved exclusively orbicularis oculi motoneurons in the dorsolateral division of the facial nucleus. At 3–3.5 d, transneuronal transfer involved premotor interneurons of trigeminal, auditory, and vestibular reflex pathways (in medullary and pontine reticular formation, trigeminal nuclei, periolivary and ventral cochlear nuclei, and medial vestibular nuclei), motor pathways (dorsolateral quadrant of contralateral red nucleus and pararubral area), deep cerebellar nuclei (lateral portion of interpositus nucleus and dorsolateral hump ipsilaterally), limbic relays (parabrachial and Kölliker–Fuse nuclei), and oculomotor structures involved in eye–eyelid coordination (oculomotor nucleus, supraoculomotor area, and interstitial nucleus of Cajal). At 4 d, higher order neurons were revealed in trigeminal, auditory, vestibular, and deep cerebellar nuclei (medial, interpositus, and lateral), oculomotor and visual-related structures (Darkschewitsch, nucleus of the posterior commissure, deep layers of superior colliculus, and pretectal area), lateral hypothalamus, and cerebral cortex (particularly in parietal areas). At 4.5 and 5 d the labeling of higher order neurons occurred in hypothalamus, cerebral cortex, and blink-related areas of cerebellar cortex. These results provide a comprehensive picture of the premotor networks mediating reflex, voluntary, and limbic-related eyelid responses and highlight potential sites of motor learning in eyelid classical conditioning.
The distributed burning regime in type Ia supernova models

The deflagration mode of flame propagation in type Ia supernova (SN Ia) models requires a correct description of the interaction of the flame with turbulent motions. It is well-known that turbulent combustion proceeds in different regimes. For most parts of the deflagration in SNe Ia the flamelet regime applies. This has been modeled in previous multi-dimensional simulations. However, at late stages of the explosion, the flame will propagate in the so-called distributed regime. We investigate the effects of this regime on SN Ia models in a first and simplified approach and show that the trend of effects seems capable of curing some problems of current pure deflagration models.
Automatic Accuracy-Guaranteed Bit-Width Optimization for Fixed and Floating-Point Systems

In this paper we present Minibit+, an approach that optimizes the bit-widths of fixed-point and floating-point designs, while guaranteeing accuracy. Our approach adopts different levels of analysis giving the designer the opportunity to terminate it at any stage to obtain a result. Range analysis is achieved using a combined affine and interval arithmetic approach to reduce the number of bits. Precision analysis involves a coarse-grain and fine-grain analysis. The best representation, in fixed-point or floating-point, for the numbers is then chosen based on the range, precision and latency. Three case studies are used: discrete cosine transform, B-Splines and RGB to YCbCr color conversion. Our analysis can run over 200 times faster than current approaches to this problem while producing more accurate results, on average within 2-3% of an exhaustive search.
MHC and Evolution in Teleosts

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules are key players in initiating immune responses towards invading pathogens. Both MHC class I and class II genes are present in teleosts, and, using phylogenetic clustering, sequences from both classes have been classified into various lineages. The polymorphic and classical MHC class I and class II gene sequences belong to the U and A lineages, respectively. The remaining class I and class II lineages contain nonclassical gene sequences that, despite their non-orthologous nature, may still hold functions similar to their mammalian nonclassical counterparts. However, the fact that several of these nonclassical lineages are only present in some teleost species is puzzling and questions their functional importance. The number of genes within each lineage greatly varies between teleost species. At least some gene expansions seem reasonable, such as the huge MHC class I expansion in Atlantic cod that most likely compensates for the lack of MHC class II and CD4. The evolutionary trigger for similar MHC class I expansions in tilapia, for example, which has a functional MHC class II, is not so apparent. Future studies will provide us with a more detailed understanding in particular of nonclassical MHC gene functions.
Automated Staging for Built-to-Order Application Systems

The increasing complexity of enterprise and distributed systems demands automated design, testing, deployment, and monitoring of applications. Testing, or staging, in particular poses unique challenges. In this paper, we present the Elba project and Mulini generator. The goal of Elba is creating automated staging and testing of complex enterprise systems before deployment to production. Automating the staging process lowers the cost of testing applications. Feedback from staging, especially when coupled with appropriate resource costs, can be used to ensure correct functionality and provisioning for the application. The Elba project extracts test parameters from production specifications (such as SLAs) and deployment specifications, and via the Mulini generator, creates staging plans for the application. We then demonstrate Mulini on an example application, TPC-W, and show how information from automated staging and monitoring allows us to refine application deployments easily based on performance and cost
The contribution of rotational velocity to the FP of elliptical galaxies

The contribution of ordered rotation to the observed tilt and thickness of the Fundamental Plane of elliptical galaxies is studied by means of oblate, two-integrals cuspy galaxy models with adjustable flattening, variable amount of ordered rotational support, and possible presence of a dark matter halo and of a central super-massive black hole. We find that, when restricting the measure of the velocity dispersion to the central galactic regions, rotation has a negligible effect, and so cannot be responsible of the observed tilt. However, streaming velocity effect can be significant when observing small and rotationally supported galaxies through large (relative) aperture (as for example in Fundamental Plane studies at high redshift), and can lead to unrealistically low mass-to-light ratios. The effect of a central supermassive black hole on the kinematical fields, and the models position in the v/σ-ellipticity plane are also discussed.
Multilingual effects on EFL learning: a comparison of foreign language anxiety experienced by monolingual and bilingual tertiary students in the Lao PDR

ABSTRACT Foreign language anxiety is common among adult learners, especially those who lack exposure to the language that they are learning. In this study, we compared the foreign language anxiety experienced by monolingual and bilingual tertiary students in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) who were learning English as a Foreign Language. The monolingual students were learning English as their L2, while the bilingual students were learning it as their L3. In general, both groups of EFL learners reported moderate to high levels of foreign language anxiety in relation to EFL learning. In comparison to the monolingual students, the bilingual students were reportedly feeling more comfortable to be with the native speakers of English and had increased self-confidence in using English. This finding was noteworthy since the bilingual students actually received less encouragement from their English teachers in the learning process and they also used less English in their everyday communication. Together, the findings highlighted positive multilingual effects in linguistic self-confidence, which could be useful in reducing foreign language anxiety among multilingual individuals.