Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sensation seeking personality traits of recreational divers.

Objectives The sensation seeking personality traits of recreational scuba divers are poorly understood. This study aimed to use a validated measure to determine the extent to which divers’ sensation seeking traits differ from the general population. Methods Thirty experienced recreational scuba divers were enrolled. Their sensation seeking traits, including thrill and adventure (TAS) and experience seeking (ES), disinhibition (DIS) and boredom susceptibility (BS), were assessed with the Sensation Seeking Scale, Form V. Results The divers scored significantly higher than the reference population on both the TAS and ES sub-scales (p<0.001 and p=0.003, respectively), and significantly lower (p=0.010) on the BS sub-scale. There was a trend for the divers to score lower on the DIS sub-scale (p=0.076). There was no difference between the divers and the reference population on “total” sensation seeking score (p=0.511). Discussion Divers in the study were thrill, adventure and experience seekers but not overall sensation seekers. The TAS and ES findings are consistent with the results of other studies of individuals who engage in risky sports. The DIS, BS and “total” score findings do not show this consistency and are attributed to the older age and more “establishment” personalities of our divers. Larger studies are required to further investigate diver sensation seeking and to compare subgroups within the diving population.
Adaptive energy conserving algorithms for neighbor discovery in opportunistic Bluetooth networks

In this paper, we introduce and evaluate novel adaptive schemes for neighbor discovery in Bluetooth-enabled ad-hoc networks. In an ad-hoc peer-to-peer setting, neighbor search is a continuous, hence battery draining process. In order to save energy when the device is unlikely to encounter a neighbor, we adaptively choose parameter settings depending on a mobility context to decrease the expected power consumption of Bluetooth-enabled devices. For this purpose, we first determine the mean discovery time and power consumption values for In different Bluetooth parameter settings through a comprehensive exploration of the parameter space by means of simulation validated by experiments on real devices. The fastest average discovery time obtained is 0.2 s, while at an average discovery time of I s the power consumption is just 1.5 times that of the idle mode on our devices. We then introduce two adaptive algorithms for dynamically adjusting the Bluetooth parameters based on past perceived activity in the ad-hoc network. Both adaptive schemes for selecting the discovery mode are based only on locally-available information. We evaluate these algorithms in a node mobility simulation. Our adaptive algorithms reduce energy consumption by 50% and have up to 8% better performance over a static power-con serving scheme
Cellularization of classifying spaces and fusion properties of finite groups

One way to understand the mod p homotopy theory of classifying spaces of finite groups is to compute their Bℤ/p‐cellularization. In the easiest cases this is a classifying space of a finite group (always a finite p‐group). If not, we show that it has infinitely many non‐trivial homotopy groups. Moreover they are either p‐torsion free or else infinitely many of them contain p‐torsion. By means of techniques related to fusion systems we exhibit concrete examples where p‐torsion appears and compute explicitly the cellularization.
Empiric/pre-emptive anti-Candida therapy in non-neutropenic ICU patients

The potential of the systemic antifungal treatment of non-immunocompromised patients with sepsis, extra-digestive Candida colonization and multiple organ failure is unknown, although it represents three out of four antifungal treatments prescribed in intensive care units. It may allow an early treatment of invasive fungal infection at incubation phase, but exposes patients to unnecessary antifungal treatments with subsequent costs and antifungal selection pressure. As early diagnostic tests for invasive candidiasis are still considered insufficient, the potential of this strategy needs to be demonstrated by a randomized controlled trial. Such a trial is currently ongoing.
Genetically encoded proton sensors reveal activity-dependent pH changes in neurons

The regulation of hydrogen ion concentration (pH) is fundamental to cell viability, metabolism, and enzymatic function. Within the nervous system, the control of pH is also involved in diverse and dynamic processes including development, synaptic transmission, and the control of network excitability. As pH affects neuronal activity, and can also itself be altered by neuronal activity, the existence of tools to accurately measure hydrogen ion fluctuations is important for understanding the role pH plays under physiological and pathological conditions. Outside of their use as a marker of synaptic release, genetically encoded pH sensors have not been utilized to study hydrogen ion fluxes associated with network activity. By combining whole-cell patch clamp with simultaneous two-photon or confocal imaging, we quantified the amplitude and time course of neuronal, intracellular, acidic transients evoked by epileptiform activity in two separate in vitro models of temporal lobe epilepsy. In doing so, we demonstrate the suitability of three genetically encoded pH sensors: deGFP4, E2GFP, and Cl-sensor for investigating activity-dependent pH changes at the level of single neurons.
Examination Result Attribution, Expectancy and Achievement Goals among Chinese Students in Hong Kong∗

Summary The structure of Chinese primary school students’ causal attributions for actual examination results was examined. A factor analysis of the attributions revealed dimensions which supported Weiner's classification. Age‐related differences as well as interrelationships among perceived attainment, expectancy of success, causal attributions and achievement goals were also explored. Results showed that older students had lower but more accurate perceived attainment than younger students. They also attributed more to internal causes and study at home, and they had stronger learning goals. Results also showed that leaming‐oriented students attributed more to internal causes and study at home but less to home conditions, while performance‐oriented students attributed more to uncontrollable causes. Results were explained and discussed with reference to the socialisation patterns in the Chinese culture. ∗ This article is based on a paper presented at the Fifth Annual Conference of the Hong Kong Educational .
Bullying on the School Bus

Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess the nature of bullying on the school bus. Videotapes were used to identify occurrences of bullying on buses of elementary school students. Incidents were reviewed for forms of bullying, fullness, presence of friends, and severity of acts. Results indicated that approximately two incidents occurred per bus ride and that both frequency and severity differed by bus fullness. Gender differences were observed for types of bullying; however, the presence of friends was not found to be protective for either gender. Implications for bus safety and future research are discussed.
Starting from Scratch: Political and Organizational Challenges Facing Charter Schools

Charter schools are publicly funded schools of choice operating free of state regulation and independent of local school districts. Twenty-nine states have enacted laws establishing charter schools since 1991. Nationwide, an estimated 700 charter schools have opened their doors and hundreds more are planned This study examines the organizational and political obstacles encountered by "start-from-scratch" charter schools. We analyze what these challenges mean for individual charter schools, the charter school experiment in general, and the state's policy role in governing these new institutions.
Predictors of Cognitive Function and Recovery 10 Years After Traumatic Brain Injury in Young Children

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) has implications for functional outcomes, but few studies have documented long-term outcomes. The purpose of this study was to plot recovery of cognitive and functional skills after early childhood TBI to 10 years postinjury and to identify the contribution of injury, environment, preinjury characteristics, and acute functional recovery. METHODS: Subjects were recruited consecutively to this prospective, longitudinal study, which used a between-factor design, with injury severity as the independent variable. Forty children with TBI aged 2 and 7 years were recruited on admission to a tertiary pediatric hospital, divided according to injury severity, and compared with 16 healthy controls acutely and 12 and 30 months and 10 years postinjury. Cognition, adaptive ability, executive function, and social/behavioral skills were examined. RESULTS: Children with severe TBI had poorest outcomes, with deficits greatest for cognition. Recovery trajectories were similar across severity groups but with significant gains in verbal skills from 12 and 30 months to 12 months and 10 years. Predictors of outcome included preinjury ability (for adaptive function) and family function (social/behavioral skills). CONCLUSIONS: Results confirm a high risk of persisting deficits after severe TBI in early childhood. Children with less severe TBI appear to recover to function normally. Contrary to speculation about “growing into deficits,” after protracted recovery to 30 months, young children make age-appropriate progress at least to 10 years postinsult. Environmental factors were found to contribute to adaptive and social/behavioral recovery.
Finding Traces of High and Low Achievers by Analyzing Undergraduates' E-book Logs

We investigated the learning behavior of undergraduates with e-book logs. E-book logs from 99 undergraduates taking an information science course were collected. First, we analyzed differences between nine high-achieving students and three low-achieving students. A log recorded before a class session in which the same e-book was used as a textbook was considered a preview log, and one recorded after a class session was considered a review log. The analysis of preview frequency indicates that the low achievers did not perform the previews, but many high achievers frequently did. The review frequency demonstrates that regardless of high and low achievements, students performed reviews. We added the logs of six relatively low achievers and analyzed more details of the preview logs of high and low achievers. The number of page flips and durations of preview logs revealed that relatively low achievers tried to perform previews, but they gave the endeavor up easily.
Effects of Goldberg Device Learning Program on Creative Personality of the Primary Gifted Students

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of a Goldberg device learning program on primary gifted students` creative personality. Based on the concept of creative personality derived from a literature review, a learning program has been developed and applied to 18 primary gifted class students and 20 invention club students. Creative personality consists of eight components: patience/persistence, confidence, humor, curiosity, imagination, openness, adventurous spirits, and independence. Creative personality tests were conducted before and after Goldberg device learning program lessons. The results of the tests indicate that (1) the Goldberg device learning program affected all eight components of creative personality positively; and (2) the invention club students showed a greater improvement in creative personality than the gifted class students. These findings suggest that Goldberg device learning programs can be effective to learn various scientific principles and improve students` creative personality.
Speeding up the Xbox recommender system using a euclidean transformation for inner-product spaces

A prominent approach in collaborative filtering based recommender systems is using dimensionality reduction (matrix factorization) techniques to map users and items into low-dimensional vectors. In such systems, a higher inner product between a user vector and an item vector indicates that the item better suits the user's preference. Traditionally, retrieving the most suitable items is done by scoring and sorting all items. Real world online recommender systems must adhere to strict response-time constraints, so when the number of items is large, scoring all items is intractable. We propose a novel order preserving transformation, mapping the maximum inner product search problem to Euclidean space nearest neighbor search problem. Utilizing this transformation, we study the efficiency of several (approximate) nearest neighbor data structures. Our final solution is based on a novel use of the PCA-Tree data structure in which results are augmented using paths one hamming distance away from the query (neighborhood boosting). The end result is a system which allows approximate matches (items with relatively high inner product, but not necessarily the highest one). We evaluate our techniques on two large-scale recommendation datasets, Xbox Movies and Yahoo~Music, and show that this technique allows trading off a slight degradation in the recommendation quality for a significant improvement in the retrieval time.
Cyber Vigilance

Cyber security operators in the military and civilian sector face a lengthy repetitive work assignment with few critical signal occurrences under conditions in which they have little control over what transpires. In this sense, their task is similar to vigilance tasks that have received considerable attention from human factors specialists in regard to other operational assignments such as air traffic control, industrial process control, and medical monitoring. Accordingly, this study was designed to determine if cyber security tasks can be linked to more traditional vigilance tasks in regard to several factors known to influence vigilance performance and perceived mental workload including time on task, the probability of critical signal occurrence, and event rate (the number of stimulus events that must be monitored in order to detect critical signals). Consistent with the results obtained in traditional vigilance experiments, signal detection on a 40-minute simulated cyber security task declined significantly over time, was directly related to signal probability, and inversely related to event rate. In addition, as in traditional vigilance tasks, perceived mental workload in the cyber task, as reflected by the NASA Task Load Index, was high. The results of this study have potential meaning for designers of cyber security systems in regard to psychophysical factors that might influence task performance and the need to keep the workload of such systems from exceeding the information processing bounds of security operators.
Effects of phosphorylation by myosin light chain kinase on the structure of Limulus thick filaments

The results discussed in the preceding paper (Levine, R. J. C., J. L. Woodhead, and H. A. King. 1991. J. Cell Biol. 113:563-572.) indicate that A-band shortening in Limulus muscle is a thick filament response to activation that occurs largely by fragmentation of filament ends. To assess the effect of biochemical changes directly associated with activation on the length and structure of thick filaments from Limulus telson muscle, a dually regulated tissue (Lehman, W., J. Kendrick- Jones, and A. G. Szent Gyorgyi. 1973. Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 37:319-330.) we have examined the thick filament response to phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chains. In agreement with the previous work of J. Sellers (1981. J. Biol. Chem. 256:9274-9278), Limulus myosin, incubated with partially purified chicken gizzard myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) and [gamma 32P]-ATP, binds 2 mol phosphate/mole protein. On autoradiographs of SDS-PAGE, the label is restricted to the two regulatory light chains, LC1 and LC2. Incubation of long (greater than or equal to 4.0 microns) thick filaments, separated from Limulus telson muscle under relaxing conditions, with either intact MLCK in the presence of Ca2+ and calmodulin, or Ca2(+)- independent MLCK obtained by brief chymotryptic digestion (Walsh, M. P., R. Dabrowska, S. Hinkins, and D. J. Hartshorne. 1982. Biochemistry. 21:1919-1925), causes significant changes in their structure. These include: disordering of the helical surface arrangement of myosin heads as they move away from the filament backbone; the presence of distal bends and breaks, with loss of some surface myosin molecules, in each polar filament half; and the production of shorter filaments and end- fragments. The latter structures are similar to those produced by Ca2(+)-activation of skinned fibers (Levine, R. J. C., J. L. Woodhead, and H. A. King. J. Cell Biol. 113:563-572). Rinsing experimental filament preparations with relaxing solution before staining restores some degree of order of the helical surface array, but not filament length. We propose that outward movement of myosin heads and thick filament shortening in Limulus muscle are responses to activation that are dependent on phosphorylation of regulatory myosin light chains. Filament shortening may be due, in large part, to breakage at the filament ends.
The effectiveness of social stories TM to develop social interactions with adults with characteristics of autism spectrum disorder

Summary Most research into the effectiveness of Social Stories has focused on children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This study examines the use of Social Stories with four adults with learning disabilities and social communication impairments characteristic of ASD. This study employed an N = 1 multiple-baseline, acrossparticipant, AB design with fade and maintenance probe stages. Each participant was involved in two Social Story interventions. The intervention and data collection was carried out by support staff who knew the participants. Results found that all target behaviours showed positive change during at least one phase of the study, although data indicated a return towards baseline levels across all behaviours into the probe phase. Social Stories had positive effect on improving social interaction in adults with social interaction impairments, even though this effect was short-lived. As the behaviours targeted were long standing, longer intervention which is contextspecific may enable more permanent changes to occur.
The Relationships Among Phonological Processing, Orthographic Processing, and Lexical Development in Children with Reading Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between phonological and orthographic processing skills in relation to the two lexical acquisition systems (i.e., word-specific knowledge and subword orthographic-phonological connections) in children with and without reading disabilities (RD). Performance on measures of phonemic awareness, orthographic processing, and print exposure in 16 fifth- and sixth-grade children with RD was compared to that of three control groups without RD (each with N = 16): a chronological-age matched group of children and two different groups of reading-age-matched children. One reading-age group was matched with the group of children with RD on pseudoword identification skills (considered a proxy for the robustness of subword orthographic-phonological connections in the lexicon); the other was matched on exception-word identification (used to approximate word-specific knowledge in the lexicon). Results were consistent with the hypothesis that children with RD add word-specific entries to their lexicons without a corresponding expansion of subword orthographic-phonological connections. Furthermore, this lexical asymmetry fully accounts for differences in phonemic awareness and orthographic processing skill differences between children with and without RD. Results indicate that phonological and orthographic processes may be less integrated in children with RD.
Hybrid vision/force control at corners in planar robotic-contour following

The accuracy and execution speed of a force controlled contour-following task is limited if the shape of the workpiece is unknown. This is even more true when the workpiece contour contains corners. The paper shows how a hybrid vision/force control approach at corners in planar-contour following results in a more accurate and faster task execution. The vision system is used to measure online the contour and to watch out for corners. The edge is correctly located by compensating the compliance of the tool/camera setup which affects the contour measurement. A simple corner-detection algorithm is presented. Once a corner is detected, the finite-state controller is activated to take the corner in the best conditions. Experimental results are presented to validate the approach.
Redundancy and computational efficiency in Cartesian genetic programming

The graph-based Cartesian genetic programming system has an unusual genotype representation with a number of advantageous properties. It has a form of redundancy whose role has received little attention in the published literature. The representation has genes that can be activated or deactivated by mutation operators during evolution. It has been demonstrated that this "junk" has a useful role and is very beneficial in evolutionary search. The results presented demonstrate the role of mutation and genotype length in the evolvability of the representation. It is found that the most evolvable representations occur when the genotype is extremely large and in which over 95% of the genes are inactive.
The Need for More Effective Father Involvement in Early Autism Intervention

Fathers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are underrepresented in both early intervention and research. However, fathers have unique interaction styles that make important contributions to the language and symbolic play development of typically developing children. Fathers may make similar contributions to the development of their children with ASD, who struggle with social-communicative deficits, particularly in the areas of language and symbolic play. This article provides a theoretical rationale for enhancing father—child involvement in early autism intervention that may lead to improved outcomes in child communication and symbolic play and have cascading benefits for families in reducing stress and enhancing coping mechanisms. To support this rationale, systematic reviews of the literature were conducted to (a) identify the extent of father involvement in parent training programs for children with autism, (b) identify the contributions of parents to the symbolic play outcomes of their children with ASD and other disabilities, and (c) examine differences in stress and coping experienced by mothers and fathers of children with ASD. Finally, possible barriers to father participation in early autism intervention are discussed and recommendations are offered for making parent-implemented early intervention for children with ASD more amenable to fathers.
Integrating Discrete and Continuous Change in a Logical Framework

The goal of our work is to develop theoretical foundations for the representation of knowledge in domains in which properties may vary continuously. One achievement of our research is that it extends the applicability of current research on theories of action. Furthermore, we are able to apply known approaches to the frame and ramification problems, developed for discretely changing worlds, to domains in which the world changes continuously.