Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PURSUING THE PERCEPTUAL RATHER THAN THE RETINAL STIMULUS

In the first experiment, subjects were able to successfully track a perceptually completed contour that was extrapolated from peripheral retinal information. In the second experiment, subjects successfully pursued an object that moved horizontally behind a narrow slit in such a way that the only visible stimuli were the edges of the object moving vertically in the slit. In the third experiment, subjects successfully tracked the invisible center of a rolling wheel when all that could be seen were points of light traveiling in a cycloidal path on the rim of the wheel. It is argued that the stimulus for pursuit eye movements is the appreciation of an object in motion with respect to the observer, regardless of the retinal stimulation, and in some cases regardless of the sense modality through which the motion is detected. What is the stimulus for pursuit eye movements? The traditional statement is that a moving retinal image at or very near to the fovea is required before pursuit can be released. And yet, a number of studies show that retinal motion may not be necessary for pursuit (e.g. Gertz, 1916; Heywood, 1973; Richards and Steinbath, 1972; Steinbach and Pearce, 1972; Steinbach, 1969). I would like to suggest that the fundamental requirement for pursuit is the appreciation of an object in motion with respect to the obsemer irrespective of retinal stimulation, and in some cases irrespective of the sense modality through which motion is assessed. The experiments described below show pursuit being elicited in a variety of situations where the retinal stimulation provides what is usually thought to be inadequate and inappropriate information for the direction and extent of the eye movements actually made.
A systematic investigation of written language processing in autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by language processing differences. These differences are thought to impact upon reading skill and individuals with ASD are often reported to have reduced reading comprehension and inferencing accuracy, in comparison to typically developing (TD) controls. This thesis examined on-line linguistic processing differences that might underpin atypical reading performance in ASD by monitoring the eye movements of TD and ASD adults as they read text that included lexical, syntactic, semantic, and discourse manipulations. Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 demonstrated that the efficiency of lexical and syntactic processing is similar between TD and ASD readers, as evidenced by comparable word frequency and garden path effects. In contrast, Experiment 3 demonstrated that there is a differential time-course in the processing of situational world knowledge during reading between TD and ASD readers. However, no difference in the efficiency with which TD and ASD readers form co-referential links was found in Experiment 4. In addition, for each experiment, readers with ASD were found to engage in increased rereading, in comparison to TD readers, which is speculated to reflect a ‘cautious’ reading strategy. Collectively, the findings from these experiments demonstrate that in general, the language processing system is very similar between TD and ASD readers. However, individuals with ASD have a specific processing atypicality that is associated with the processing of situational world knowledge. Given that processing of such information is often essential for inferences to be formed and for readers to achieve global text coherence, it is likely that this processing difference contributes to previous reports of comprehension and inferential atypicalities in ASD. Collectively, these findings provide a novel contribution to our understanding of how linguistic processing during reading occurs onlinein individuals with ASD.
Properties of the Miss Ratio for a 2-Level Storage Model with LRU or FIFO Replacement Strategy and Independent References

The behavior of a two-level storage system operating with the least recently used (LRU) or the first-in, first-out (FIFO) replacement strategy, where accesses to the main storage are described by the independent reference model (IRM), is discussed. Let the size of main storage be m. It is proved that the miss ratio (i.e., the steady-state probability that the item currently required is not in main storage) exhibits the following properties: the miss ratio is a convex function of m under LRU, the function (1-miss ratio)/m is nonincreasing in m under FIFO, and the miss ratio is a Schur-convex function of the reference probabilities under FIFO. >
Opportunistic Interference Mitigation Achieves Optimal Degrees-of-Freedom in Wireless Multi-Cell Uplink Networks

We introduce an opportunistic interference mitigation (OIM) protocol, where a user scheduling strategy is utilized in K-cell uplink networks with time-invariant channel coefficients and base stations (BSs) having M antennas. Each BS opportunistically selects a set of users who generate the minimum interference to the other BSs. Two OIM protocols are shown according to the number of simultaneously transmitting users per cell, S: opportunistic interference nulling (OIN) and opportunistic interference alignment (OIA). Then, their performance is analyzed in terms of degrees-of-freedom (DoFs). As our main result, it is shown that KM DoFs are achievable under the OIN protocol with M selected users per cell, if the total number of users in a cell, N, scales at least as SNR(K-1)M. Similarly, it turns out that the OIA scheme with S(<;M) selected users achieves KS DoFs, if N scales faster than SNR(K-1)S. These results indicate that there exists a trade-off between the achievable DoFs and the minimum required N. By deriving the corresponding upper bound on the DoFs, it is shown that the OIN scheme is DoF-optimal. Finally, numerical evaluation, a two-step scheduling method, and the extension to multi-carrier scenarios are shown.
Effects of Endurance Exercise and High-Fat Diet on Insulin Resistance and Ceramide Contents of Skeletal Muscle in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Background We evaluated the effects of endurance exercise and a high-fat diet on insulin resistance and ceramide contents of skeletal muscle in Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods We randomly divided 32 rats into four groups: control (CON, n = 8), high fat diet (HF, n = 8), exercise (Ex, 24 m/min for 2 hours, 5 days/wk, n = 8), HF/Ex (n = 8). After 4-week treatments, plasma lipid profiles, glucose and insulin concentrations were measured. The triglycerides (TG), ceramide, and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT-4) contents were measured in the skeletal muscle. The rate of glucose transport was determined under submaximal insulin concentration during the muscle incubation. Results Free fatty acid levels were significantly higher in CON and HF than Ex (P = 0.032). Plasma glucose levels in HF were significantly higher than the two Ex groups (P = 0.002), and insulin levels were significantly higher in HF than in other three groups (P = 0.021). Muscular TG concentrations were significantly higher in HF than CON and Ex and also in HF/Ex than Ex, respectively (P = 0.005). Hepatic TG concentrations were significantly higher in HF than other three groups but Ex was significantly lower than HF/Ex (P = 0.000). Muscular ceramide content in HF was significantly greater than that in either Ex or HF/Ex (P = 0.031). GLUT-4 levels in CON and HF were significantly lower than those in Ex and HF/Ex (P = 0.009, P = 0.003). The glucose transport rate in submaximal insulin concentration was lower in CON than in either Ex or HF/Ex (P = 0.043), but not different from HF. Conclusion This study suggests that high fat diet for 4 weeks selectively impairs insulin resistance, but not glucose transport rate, GLUT-4 and ceramide content in skeletal muscle per se. However, endurance exercise markedly affects the content of ceramide and insulin resistance in muscle.
Probabilistic and Set-based Model Invalidation and Estimation Using LMIs

Probabilistic and set-based methods are two approaches for model invalidation, parameter and state estimation. Both classes of methods use different types of data, \ie deterministic or probabilistic data, which allow different statements and applications. Ideally, however, all available data should be used in estimation and model invalidation methods. This paper presents an estimation and model invalidation framework combining set-based and probabilistically uncertain data for polynomial continuous-time systems. In particular, uncertain data on the moments and the support is used without the need to make explicit assumptions on the type of probability densities. The paper derives pointwise-in-time outer approximations of the moments of the probability densities associated with the states and parameters of the system. These approximations can be interpreted as guaranteed confidence intervals for the moment estimates. Furthermore, guaranteed bounds on the probability masses on subsets are derived and allow an estimation of the unknown probability densities. To calculate the estimates, the dynamics of the probability densities of the state trajectories are found by occupation measures of the nonlinear dynamics. This allows the construction of an infinite-dimensional linear program which incorporates the set- and moment-based data. This linear program is relaxed by a hierarchy of LMI problems providing, as shown elsewhere, an almost uniformly convergent sequence of outer approximations of the estimated sets. The approach is demonstrated with numerical examples.
On the peak-to-average power of OFDM signals based on oversampling

Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) introduces large amplitude variations in time, which can result in significant signal distortion in the presence of nonlinear amplifiers. We introduce a new bound for the peak of the continuous envelope of an OFDM signal, based on the maximum of its corresponding oversampled sequence; it is shown to be very tight as the oversampling rate increases. The bound is then used to derive a closed-form probability upper bound for the complementary cumulative distribution function of the peak-to-mean envelope power ratio of uncoded OFDM signals for sufficiently large numbers of subcarriers. As another application of the bound for oversampled sequences, we propose tight relative error bounds for computation of the peak power using two main methods: the oversampled inverse fast Fourier transform and the method introduced for coded systems based on minimum distance decoding of the code.
HR Professionals’ Preferred Skill for Business Graduates in Service Sector

The current study attempts to explore the skills that are valued by service sector HR professionals (public listed) and to identify the top four needed skills by service sector HR professionals. Based on the literature review two objectives were formulated that seventeen skills are the anticipated attributes for employability and the most preferred skills preferred by HR professionals are adaptability, leadership, team work and work ethics. To assess employability,” Employer Perspective of the Business School Graduate” scale was adapted from Jackson (2013) study. The sample of the study consisted of 126 HR professionals from public listed companies in service sector. Rotated Component Matrix was used to calculate the top four preferred skills. The findings of the study suggest that four skills were preferred by HR professionals i.e. 1) adaptability, 2) leadership, 3) teamwork, and 4) work ethics. The implication of the findings is discussed in the study.
The association of age and semen quality in healthy men.

BACKGROUND Although the effect of maternal age on fertility is well known, it is unclear whether paternal age also affects fertility. This cross-sectional study sought to characterize the association between age and semen quality, a well-known proxy of fertility status. METHODS A convenience sample of 97 non-smoking men (aged 22-80 years) without known fertility problems was recruited from a national government laboratory. The men provided semen samples and information relating to lifestyle, diet, medical and occupational details. Semen volume (ml), sperm concentration (x10(6)/ml), total sperm count (x10(6)), motility (%), progressive motility (%) and total progressively motile sperm count (x10(6)) were measured. RESULTS After adjusting for covariates, semen volume decreased by 0.03 ml per year of age (95% CI: -0.05, -0.01); motility decreased by 0.7% per year (95% CI: -0.92, -0.43); progressive motility decreased by 3.1% per year (95% CI: -4.5, -1.6); and total progressively motile sperm count decreased by 4.7% per year (95% CI: -7.2, -2.2). There was a suggested decrease in sperm concentration and count. The proportion of men with abnormal volume, concentration and motility was significantly increased across the age decades. CONCLUSIONS In a convenience sample of healthy men from a non-clinical setting, semen volume and sperm motility decreased continuously between 22-80 years of age, with no evidence of a threshold.
The effect of sitagliptin on cardiovascular risk profile in Korean patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a retrospective cohort study

Background A 2013 postmarketing study suggested a possible link between saxagliptin use and hospital admission for heart failure. Cardiovascular (CV) effects of sitagliptin, the most commonly prescribed antidiabetic in the same class as saxagliptin, have not been evaluated much in Asian patients with type 2 diabetes. This study sought to ascertain the CV safety of sitagliptin in Korean patients. Methods A retrospective cohort study of 4,860 patients who were classified into the sitagliptin and metformin groups was conducted using electronic patient data retrieved from a major tertiary care medical center in Korea. Primary composite end points included CV death, myocardial infarction, and ischemic stroke. Secondary composite end points included the aforementioned individual primary outcomes plus hospitalization due to unstable angina, heart failure, or coronary revascularization. A Cox proportional-hazards model was used to compare CV risk associated with drug exposure. Results Following propensity score (PS) matching in a 1:2 ratio, 1,620 patients in the sitagliptin group and 3,240 patients in the metformin group were identified for cohort entry. The PS-matched hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for sitagliptin relative to metformin were, respectively, 0.831 and 0.536–1.289 (P=0.408) for primary end point and 1.140 and 0.958–1.356 (P=0.139) for secondary end point. Heart failure hospitalization rates did not differ significantly between the two groups, with the PS-matched HR of 0.762 and 95% CI of 0.389–1.495 (P=0.430). When only those patients at high risk of ischemic heart disease were included for analysis, no excess CV risk was observed with sitagliptin compared with metformin. Overall, there were no substantial between-group differences in rates of adverse events, such as hypoglycemia and incident pancreatic disease. Conclusion Sitagliptin was not associated with elevated risk of CV complications including myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, heart failure, and coronary revascularization, compared to metformin therapy among Korean patients with type 2 diabetes.
The Social and Organisational Determinants of School Commitment of Expatriate Teachers

The employment of expatriate teachers is explored here through the perspective of their organisational commitment. Drawing on the results of a public school teacher survey conducted in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2014, this study used a multilevel framework to investigate the effects of teacher characteristics, school environment, and district level human resource management policies and practices on expatriate teachers’ school commitment. The results of the three-level model revealed that while teacher level attributes remained strong predictors of their school commitment, the social and organisational environment of the school greatly contributed to the organisational commitment of expatriate teachers. Interpersonal support within the school community and supportive work climates were crucial for expatriate teachers to build and sustain their commitment. Nationality was found to moderate the relationships between several workplace factors and teacher school commitment.
A Subjective and Objective Study of Stalling Events in Mobile Streaming Videos

Over-the-top mobile adaptive video streaming is invariably influenced by volatile network conditions, which can cause playback interruptions (stalling or rebuffering events) and bitrate fluctuations, thereby impairing users’ quality of experience (QoE). Video quality assessment models that can accurately predict users’ QoE under such volatile network conditions are rapidly gaining attention, since these methods could enable more efficient design of quality control protocols for media-driven services such as YouTube, Amazon, Netflix, and many others. However, the development of improved QoE prediction models requires data sets of videos afflicted with diverse stalling events that have been labeled with ground-truth subjective opinion scores. Toward this end, we have created a new mobile video quality database that we call LIVE Mobile Stall Video Database-II. Our database contains a total of 174 videos afflicted with distortions caused by 26 different stalling patterns. We describe the way we simulated the diverse stalling events to create a corpus of distorted videos, and we detail the human study we conducted to obtain continuous-time subjective scores from 54 subjects. We also present the outcomes of our comprehensive analysis of the impact of several factors that influence subjective QoE, and report the performance of existing QoE-prediction models on our data set. We are making the database (videos, subjective data, and video metadata) publicly available in order to help the advance state-of-the-art research on user-centric mobile network planning and management. The database may be accessed at http://live.ece. utexas.edu/research/LIVEStallStudy/liveMobile.html.
Perspectives of Differentiation Therapies of Acute Myeloid Leukemia: The Search for the Molecular Basis of Patients’ Variable Responses to 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D and Vitamin D Analogs

The concept of differentiation therapy of cancer is ~40 years old. Despite many encouraging results obtained in laboratories, both in vitro and in vivo studies, the only really successful clinical application of differentiation therapy was all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA)-based therapy of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). ATRA, which induces granulocytic differentiation of APL leukemic blasts, has revolutionized the therapy of this disease by converting it from a fatal to a curable one. However, ATRA does not work for other acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs). Since 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25D) is capable of inducing monocytic differentiation of leukemic cells, the idea of treating other AMLs with vitamin D analogs (VDAs) was widely accepted. Also, some types of solid cancers responded to in vitro applied VDAs, and hence it was postulated that VDAs can be used in many clinical applications. However, early clinical trials in which cancer patients were treated either with 1,25D or with VDAs, did not lead to conclusive results. In order to search for a molecular basis of such unpredictable responses of AML patients toward VDAs, we performed ex vivo experiments using patient’s blast cells. Experiments were also performed using 1,25D-responsive and 1,25D-non-responsive cell lines, to study their mechanisms of resistance toward 1,25D-induced differentiation. We found that one of the possible reasons might be due to a very low expression level of vitamin D receptor (VDR) mRNA in resistant cells, which can be increased by exposing the cells to ATRA. Our considerations concerning the molecular mechanism behind the low VDR expression and its regulation by ATRA are reported in this paper.
Method and developer characteristics for effective agile method tailoring: A study of XP expert opinion

It has long been acknowledged that software methods should be tailored if they are to achieve optimum effect. However comparatively little research has been carried out to date on this topic in general, and more notably, on agile methods in particular. This dearth of evidence in the case of agile methods is especially significant in that it is reasonable to expect that such methods would particularly lend themselves to tailoring. In this research, we present a framework based on interviews with 20 senior software development researchers and a review of the extant literature. The framework is comprised of two sets of factors—characteristics of the method, and developer practices—that can improve method tailoring effectiveness. Drawing on the framework, we then interviewed 16 expert XP practitioners to examine the current state and effectiveness of XP tailoring efforts, and to shed light on issues the framework identified as being important. The article concludes with a set of recommendations for research and practice that would advance our understanding of the method tailoring area.
First results of an experiment on using roles of variables in teaching

Roles of variables is a new concept that captures tacit expert knowledge in a form that can, e.g. be taught in introductory programming courses. A role describes some stereotypic use of variables, and only ten roles are needed to cover 99 % of all variables in novice-level programs. This paper presents the first results of an experiment where roles were introduced to novices learning Pascal programming. Students were divided into three groups that were instructed differently: in the traditional way with no treatment of roles; using roles throughout the course; and using a role-based program animator in addition to using roles in teaching. The results suggest that the introduction of roles improves program comprehension and program writing skills. Moreover, the use of the animator affects the way students describe programs: they stress data-related issues concerning the deep structure of a program, as opposed to directly visible operations and control structures.
Online optimization of modular robot locomotion

Adaptive locomotion in unstructured and unpredictable environments is one of the most advertised features of modular robots in the literature. Autonomous modular robots are expected to adapt in the face of a dynamic environment, unexpected tasks and/or module failures. There are two levels of adaptation: within a static configuration, a chain-type modular robot can adapt its locomotion gait using its many degrees of freedom and the inherent redundancy. In addition, the robot may self-reconfigure to adapt also its morphology. Online optimization of locomotion in a self-organizing manner is mandatory within this context. The contribution of this paper is three-fold: i) Inspired by central pattern generators (CPGs) found in vertebrates, we propose a distributed locomotion controller based on coupled nonlinear oscillators; ii) For offline optimization, a genetic algorithm that co-evolves the CPG with the configuration of the modular robot is presented; iii) The ultimate goal of our research being autonomous locomotion, the focus of the paper lies on a novel, fast online adaptation method for coupled nonlinear oscillators. The algorithm allows fast online optimization (adaptation) of locomotion gaits in the face of module failures or new, previously unknown configurations. A realistic simulation of our hardware prototype YaMoR is used for the experiments.