Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling confrontation naming and discourse informativeness using structural equation modeling

ABSTRACT Background: People with aphasia (PWA) and their families identify as their priority the ability to use language at the discourse level in order to meet their daily communicative needs. However, measuring connected speech can be a challenging task due to the complex and multidimensional nature of discourse. As a result, professionals often depend on confrontation naming tests to identify and measure impaired underlying cognitive mechanisms that are also hypothesized to be important for discourse production. Aims: In the current study, we investigated the validity of making inferences about discourse performance based on scores from confrontation naming tests. Specifically, we investigated the strength of the relationship between word retrieval abilities, and the ability to convey information during discourse production. Method & Procedures: Data from 118 monolingual PWA were retrieved from AphasiaBank and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Performance in confrontation naming tests was modeled as a latent variable based on the Boston Naming Test, the Western Aphasia Battery – R Naming Subtest, and the Verb Naming Test. Performance at the discourse level was modeled based on indices of informativeness in three discourse tasks (free speech, eventcasts, and story re-tell). Informativeness was quantified using the percentage of Correct Information Units. Outcomes and Results: Based on the fit statistics, the model exhibited adequate fit, indicating that the relationship between confrontation picture naming and informativeness was adequately reflected in the model. We found a strong relationship between confrontation naming test performance and discourse informativeness (standardized regression coefficient between the two latent factors = .79). Conclusions: Performance on confrontation naming tests was a strong predictor of the amount of information PWA communicated during discourse production. However, our results also highlight that performance on the latter cannot be predicted solely from the former, as evidenced by the large proportion of unexplained variance in the informativeness latent variable.
Adaptive Evolution of the Lactose Utilization Network in Experimentally Evolved Populations of Escherichia coli

Adaptation to novel environments is often associated with changes in gene regulation. Nevertheless, few studies have been able both to identify the genetic basis of changes in regulation and to demonstrate why these changes are beneficial. To this end, we have focused on understanding both how and why the lactose utilization network has evolved in replicate populations of Escherichia coli. We found that lac operon regulation became strikingly variable, including changes in the mode of environmental response (bimodal, graded, and constitutive), sensitivity to inducer concentration, and maximum expression level. In addition, some classes of regulatory change were enriched in specific selective environments. Sequencing of evolved clones, combined with reconstruction of individual mutations in the ancestral background, identified mutations within the lac operon that recapitulate many of the evolved regulatory changes. These mutations conferred fitness benefits in environments containing lactose, indicating that the regulatory changes are adaptive. The same mutations conferred different fitness effects when present in an evolved clone, indicating that interactions between the lac operon and other evolved mutations also contribute to fitness. Similarly, changes in lac regulation not explained by lac operon mutations also point to important interactions with other evolved mutations. Together these results underline how dynamic regulatory interactions can be, in this case evolving through mutations both within and external to the canonical lactose utilization network.
Recurrence of bipartite planar maps

This paper concerns random bipartite planar maps which are defined by assigning weights to their faces. The paper presents a threefold contribution to the theory. Firstly, we prove the existence of the local limit for all choices of weights and describe it in terms of an infinite mobile. Secondly, we show that the local limit is in all cases almost surely recurrent. And thirdly, we show that for certain choices of weights the local limit has exactly one face of infinite degree and has in that case spectral dimension 4/3 (the latter requires a mild moment condition).
The poorly constrained cluster disruption time-scale in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We use Monte Carlo simulations, combined with homogeneously determined age and mass distributions, based on multiwavelength photometry, to constrain the cluster formation history and the rate of bound cluster disruption in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) star cluster system. We evolve synthetic star cluster systems formed with a power-law initial cluster mass function (ICMF) of spectral index a = -2 assuming different cluster disruption time-scales. For each of these cluster disruption time-scales, we derive the corresponding cluster formation rate (CFR) required to reproduce the observed cluster age distribution. We then compare, in a 'Poissonian' Χ 2 sense, model mass distributions and model two-dimensional distributions in log(mass) versus log(age) space of the detected surviving clusters to the observations. Because of the bright detection limit (M lim V ≃ -4.7 mag) above which the observed cluster sample is complete, one cannot constrain the characteristic cluster disruption time-scale for a 104 M ⊙ cluster, t dis 4 [where the disruption time-scale depends on cluster mass as t dis = t dis 4 (M cl /10 4 M ⊙ )ν, with γ ≃ 0.62], to better than a lower limit, t dis 4 > 1 Gyr. We conclude that the CFR has been increasing steadily from 0.3 clusters Myr -1 5 Gyr ago to a present rate of (20-30) clusters Myr -1 for clusters spanning a mass range of ∼100-10 7 M ⊙ . For older ages, the derived CFR depends sensitively on our assumption of the underlying CMF shape. If we assume a universal Gaussian ICMF, then the CFR has increased steadily over a Hubble time from ∼1 cluster Gyr -1 15 Gyr ago to its present value. On the other hand, if the ICMF has always been a power law with a slope close to a = -2, the CFR exhibits a minimum some 5 Gyr ago, which we tentatively identify with the well-known age gap in the LMC's cluster age distribution.
History Sensitive Cascade Model , Midterm Report

We introduce and define the History Sensitive Cascade Model. We then explore how vertices are activated in this model. We introduce the notion of how many vertices are expected to be activated after some time, given that some vertices are active initially. We show that this is NP-hard to compute exactly, and use submodularity to provide a lower bound on the approximation found by a greedy algorithm.
Lossless Data Hiding Using Optimized Interpolation Error Expansion

Reversible data hiding technique enables the exact recovery of original contents upon extraction of embedding data. Many conventional watermarking algorithms that have been proposed so far, suffer from the problem of low embedding capacity. In many applications huge amount of data is required to embed and exact recovery of host image is also needed. Luo's additive interpolation-error expansion technique [1] is a high capacity reversible method for data embedding without zero loss of host information. In this paper, we focus on improving payload and imperceptibility, and we propose an algorithm which is an extension of interpolation-error scheme using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) which better exploits estimation of missing pixel. The experimental results demonstrate that due to slight modification in interpolation-error technique, we achieve large hiding capacity and improved image quality compared with other schemes.
Math Anxiety: Past Research, Promising Interventions, and a New Interpretation Framework

Mathematics anxiety is a pervasive issue in education that requires attention from both educators and researchers to help students reach their full academic potential. This review provides an overview of past research that has investigated the association between math anxiety and math achievement, factors that can cause math anxiety, characteristics of students that can increase their susceptibility to math anxiety, and efforts that educators can take to remedy math anxiety. We also derive a new Interpretation Account of math anxiety, which we use to argue the importance of understanding appraisal processes in the development and treatment of math anxiety. In conclusion, gaps in the literature are reviewed in addition to suggestions for future research that can help improve the field's understanding of this important issue.
Secure Attachment and Career Indecision: The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence

Over the past few decades, researchers have been trying to understand the career decision-making process from interpersonal and affective perspectives. Previous findings suggest that secure attachment is negatively linked to career indecision, but the extent to which other variables mediate this relation is less clear. The present study was designed to identify underlying mechanism in the relation between attachment and career indecision. This was done by examining a model which links secure attachment with career indecision through the mediating role of emotional intelligence. Participants included 362 female undergraduate students from a large Southern University. A path model was tested to investigate (a) the direct association of attachment to three dimensions of career indecision (lack of readiness, lack of information, and inconsistent information) and (b) whether emotional intelligence mediates the relations between attachment and the career indecision dimensions, while controlling students’ age. Results indicated a very good fit for the proposed path model. With two exceptions, results provided support for the study’s hypothesis regarding the direct and mediated links in the model; all paths were in the expected direction. Results of the study provide support for the notion that different antecedents may explain career decision-making difficulties, and therefore, college women may require diverse intervention approaches
Levels of iron and magnesium in serum of Plasmodium falciparum malarial infected children in Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria

P. falciparum invasion and destruction of red blood cells modify mineral contents in serum of infected individuals and this may contribute to the disease mortality especially among children. In this study therefore, the amount of iron, Fe and magnesium, Mg, in serum of P. falciparum infected children were estimated to provide a baseline information in Abraka, a university community in Delta state, Nigeria. Twenty five P. falciparum infected children and twenty five uninfected children in apparent good health were screened and selected after obtaining informed consent from their parents. Serum Mg and Fe levels were estimated using established procedures and standard methods. Results shows that P. falciparum malarial infection significantly (p
Enterovirus-associated encephalitis in the California encephalitis project, 1998-2005.

BACKGROUND Encephalitis is a relatively rare presentation of enterovirus (EV) infections. Clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of EV encephalitis (EVE) have not been well characterized. METHODS Patients with encephalitis enrolled in the California Encephalitis Project from 1998 to 2005 were tested for a range of pathogens, including EV, using a standardized diagnostic algorithm. EVE was categorized as "confirmed" (EV detected in cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] or brain tissue) or "possible" (EV found in respiratory or fecal specimens or serum EV immunoglobulin [Ig] M detected). We compared clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of EVE with those of other infectious encephalitis cases. RESULTS EVE was diagnosed in 73 (4.6%) of 1571 patients (45 confirmed cases, 28 possible cases); 11.1% of cases had other infectious causes. Patients with confirmed EVE were younger, although 27% were adults, who presented with significantly less severe symptoms. Serotypes identified in EVE cases correlated with the predominant serotype for the given year reported to the National Enterovirus Surveillance System at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two of 4 fatal EVE cases were associated with EV71. CONCLUSION EVs are an important cause of encephalitis cases requiring hospitalization, in both children and adults. Our data suggest that EVE severity varies by serotype, confirm the importance of CSF/brain tissue polymerase chain reaction, and demonstrate that serum IgM findings are of little value in diagnosing EVE.
Cyclic Fatigue Resistance and Force Generated by OneShape Instruments during Curved Canal Preparation

Objectives To evaluate the cyclic fatigue resistance and the force generated by OneShape files during preparation of simulated curved canals. Methods Six OneShape files (the test) and six ProTaper F2 files (the control) were subject to the bending ability test. Another thirty files of each type were used to prepare artificial canals (n = 60), which were divided into 3 groups according to respective curvatures of the canals (30°, 60°, and 90°). The numbers of cycles to fatigue (NCF) as well as the positive and negative forces that were generated by files during canal preparation were recorded. The scanning electron microscopy was applied to detect the fracture surfaces. Results Compared with ProTaper F2 files, the bending loads of OneShape files were significantly lower at deflections of 45°(P < .05), 60° (P < .05) and 75° (P < .01). No significant difference was found at 30°. OneShape files presented a higher NCF in both 60° and 90° canals than the control (P < .01). No significant difference of NCF was found between OneShape and ProTaper files in 30° canals. During the preparation of 30° canals by both files, the negative forces were dominant. With the increase of the curvature, more positive forces were observed. When the OneShape Files were compared with the control, significant different forces were found at D3 and D2 (P < .05) in 30° canals, at D2 (P < .05), D1 (P < .01) and D0 (P < .01) in 60° canals, and at D4 and D3 (P < .01) in 90° canals. Conclusions OneShape files possessed a reliable flexibility and cyclic fatigue resistance. According to the assessments of the forces generated by files, OneShape instruments performed in a more fatigue-resistant way during curved canal preparation, compared with the ProTaper F2 files.
An ALMA survey of submillimetre galaxies in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South: high-resolution 870 μm source counts

We report the first counts of faint submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) in the 870-mu m band derived from arcsecond-resolution observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). We have used ALMA to map a sample of 122 870-mu m-selected submillimetre sources drawn from the 0 degrees.5x0 degrees.5 the Large Apex BOlometer CAmera (LABOCA) Extended Chandra Deep Field South submillimetre survey (LESS). These ALMA maps have an average depth of sigma 870(mu m) similar to 0.4 mJy, some approximately three times deeper than the original LABOCA survey and critically the angular resolution is more than an order of magnitude higher, FWHM of similar to 1.5 arcsec compared to similar to 19 arcsec for the LABOCA discovery map. This combination of sensitivity and resolution allows us to precisely pinpoint the SMGs contributing to the submillimetre sources from the LABOCA map, free from the effects of confusion. We show that our ALMA-derived SMG counts broadly agree with the submillimetre source counts from previous, lower resolution single-dish surveys, demonstrating that the bulk of the submillimetre sources are not caused by blending of unresolved SMGs. The difficulty which well-constrained theoretical models have in reproducing the high surface densities of SMGs, thus remains. However, our observations do show that all of the very brightest sources in the LESS sample, S-870 (mu m) greater than or similar to 12 mJy, comprise emission from multiple, fainter SMGs, each with 870-mu m fluxes of less than or similar to 9 mJy. This implies a natural limit to the star formation rate in SMGs of less than or similar to 10(3) M-circle dot yr(-1), which in turn suggests that the space densities of z > 1 galaxies with gas masses in excess of similar to 5 x 10(10) M-circle dot is <10(-5) Mpc(-3). We also discuss the influence of this blending on the identification and characterization of the SMG counterparts to these bright submillimetre sources and suggest that it may be responsible for previous claims that they lie at higher redshifts than fainter SMGs.
Leadership Styles among Genders of Retail Managers

Themes that affect leadership have long aroused the interest of the academic community, especially regarding the categorization of the diverse forms of exercising this position and the impacts of these differences on the organizational environment. In this perspective, the interfering elements in the formation of the leader's style profile are also relevant, as the workforce is increasingly heterogeneous in terms of race, ethnicity, gender and other culturally diverse groups. However, segmentation of leadership styles is still observed exclusively by gender, which may give rise to spaces for the practice of prejudices and discrimination. In view of this, this work aims to identify the significant differences of styles of leadership between genders in the retail trade. To do so, a quantitative approach was carried out with a sample of 100 managers, male and female, self-reported by the participants, using the MLQ questionnaire from Bass, corroborated widely in several countries and populations. Data were treated using descriptive frequency statistics, as well as the Cronbach Alpha tests for reliability analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis for validity, and the T-Test for independent samples. The results indicate that the female gender has greater presence of the transformational leadership trait and the additional factors (extra effort, efficacy and satisfaction); and the transactional leadership styles and Laissez-Faire did not present significant difference of presence between the genders. Finally, this research demonstrates that there is evidence that scale is appropriate for different organizational cultures.
CONSTANTS FOR FINITE MIXTURE MODELS VIA INCRElVlENTAL MIXTURE IMPORTANCE SAlVIPLING ( IMIS ) by

We propose a method for approximating integrated likelihoods in finite mixture models. We formulate the model in terms of the unobserved group memberships, z, and make them the variables of integration. The integral is then evaluated using importance sampling over the z. We propose an adaptive importance sampling function which is itself a mixture, with two types of component distributions, one concentrated and one diffuse. The more concentrated type of component serves the usual purpose of an importance sampling function, sampling mostly group assignments of high posterior probability. The less concentrated type of component allows for the importance sampling function to explore the space in a controlled way to find other, unvisited assignments with high posterior probability. Components are added adaptively, one at a time, to cover areas of high posterior probability not well covered by the current important sampling function. The method is called Incremental Mixture Importance Sampling (IMIS). IMIS is easy to implement and to monitor for convergence. It scales easily for higher dimensional mixture distributions when a conjugate prior is specified for the mixture parameters. The simulated values on which it is based are independent, which allows for straightforward estimation of standard errors. The self-monitoring aspects of the method make it easier to adjust tuning parameters in the course of estimation than standard Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms. With only small modifications to the code, one can use the method for a wide variety of mixture distributions of different dimensions. The method performed well in simulations and in mixture problems in molecular biology, astronomy, and medical research.
Modulation of Transient and Sustained Response Components of V4 Neurons by Temporal Crowding in Flashed Stimulus Sequences

The responses of extrastriate area V4 neurons to flashed visual stimuli were examined to determine whether the responses to stimulus sequences occurring at normal saccade and fixation timing intervals were degraded relative to longer timing intervals. Stimuli were flashed in receptive fields in the near periphery while monkeys maintained steady fixation. Short interstimulus intervals (ISIs) resulted in an overall habituation style response reduction. The transient component of responses to preferred stimuli was suppressed, often completely, when the ISI was reduced below 100 ms into the range of saccadic durations. The sustained response component weakened but remained intact. At short ISIs the trailing activity from the preceding stimulus blended with onset activity from the next stimulus, making it difficult to detect individual stimulus onset events within the spike train. Habituation or conditioning effects were correlated with the stimulus tuning sensitivity of the neuron but only loosely associated with the actual level of V4 activation elicited by preceding stimuli. The results suggest that sharply tuned neurons, because of their probabilistic inactivity, are particularly sensitive to temporal change, whereas the sustained components of broadly tuned neurons could provide a continuity of information flow across visual transients, such as saccades, that do not alter significantly the view by the neuron of the scene.
Gaussian Process-Integrated State Space Model for Continuous Joint Angle Prediction from EMG and Interactive Force in a Human-Exoskeleton System

As one of the most direct indicators of the transparency between a human and an exoskeleton, interactive force has rarely been fused with electromyography (EMG) in the control of human-exoskeleton systems, the performances of which are largely determined by the accuracy of the continuous joint angle prediction. To achieve intuitive and naturalistic human intent learning, a state space model (SSM) for continuous angle prediction of knee joint is developed. When the influence of the interactive force is often ignored in the existing models of human-exoskeleton systems, interactive force is applied as the measurement model output of the proposed SSM, and the EMG signal is used as the state model input signal to indicate muscle activation. The forward dynamics of joint motion and the human-machine interaction mechanism, i.e., the biomechanical interpretations of the interactive force generation mechanism, are derived as the bases for the state model and measurement model based on Hill’s muscle model and semiphenomenological (SP) muscular model, respectively. Gaussian process (GP)-based nonlinear autoregressive with the exogenous inputs (NARX) model and back-propagation neural network (BPNN) are applied to provide better adaptivity for the SSM in practical applications. Corresponding experimental results demonstrate the validity and superiority of the method.