Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Present Bias and Everyday Self-Control Failures

Present bias is the economist’s favorite explanation for self-control problems. However, the relationship between present bias and selfcontrol is not yet fully understood. We present the T-SC model of intertemporal choice which integrates main psychological insights on selfcontrol into economics and suggests that present bias is positively related to temptations T and negatively related to self-control SC. To test the model we elicit time preferences using an incentivized delay discounting task, trait temptation and trait self-control using scale measures, and everyday temptations, self-control attempts, and self-control failures using a day reconstruction methodology. In a sample of 142 participants we find that experimentally elicited present bias is not associated with self-control problems, neither when measured on the trait level nor in everyday life. The results are in line with a clear distinction between discounting and visceral influences as determinants of decision making. The results can also explain why recent studies find only weak empirical associations between present bias elicited in monetary delay discounting tasks and life outcomes in non-monetary domains. JEL classification: D03; D91
Impact of attribute selection on defect proneness prediction in OO software

Defect proneness prediction of software modules always attracts the developers because it can reduce the testing efforts as well as software development time. In the current context, with the piling up of constraints like requirement ambiguity and complex development process, developing fault free reliable software is a daunting task. To deliver reliable software, software engineers are required to execute exhaustive test cases which become tedious and costly for software enterprises. To ameliorate the testing process one can use a defect prediction model so that testers can focus their efforts on defect prone modules. Building a defect prediction model becomes very complex task when the number of attributes is very large and the attributes are correlated. It is not easy even for a simple classifier to cope with this problem. Therefore, while developing a defect proneness prediction model, one should always be careful about feature selection. This research analyzes the impact of attribute selection on Naive Bayes (NB) based prediction model. Our results are based on Eclipse and KC1 bug database. On the basis of experimental results, we show that careful combination of attribute selection and machine learning apparently useful and, on the Eclipse data set, yield reasonable good performance with 88% probability of detection and 49% false alarm rate.
HPV prevalence at enrollment and baseline results from the Carolina Women’s Care Study, a longitudinal study of HPV persistence in women of college age

Background Cervical cancer, a rare outcome of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, disproportionately affects African American women, who are about twice more likely than European American women to die of the disease. Most cervical HPV infections clear in about one year. However, in some women HPV persists, posing a greater risk for cervical dysplasia and cancer. The Carolina Women’s Care Study (CWCS) was conducted to explore the biological, genetic, and lifestyle determinants of persistent HPV infection in college-aged European American and African American women. This paper presents the initial results of the CWCS, based upon data obtained at enrollment. Methods Freshman female students attending the University of South Carolina were enrolled in the CWCS and followed until graduation with biannual visits, including two Papanicolaou tests, cervical mucus collection, and a questionnaire assessing lifestyle factors. We recruited 467 women, 293 of whom completed four or more visits for a total of 2274 visits. Results and conclusion CWCS participants were 70% European American, 24% African American, 3% Latina/Hispanic, and 3% Asian. At enrollment, 32% tested positive for any HPV. HPV16 infection was the most common (18% of infections). Together, HPV16, 66, 51, 52, and 18 accounted for 58% of all HPV infections. Sixty-four percent of all HPV-positive samples contained more than one HPV type, with an average of 2.2 HPV types per HPV-positive participant. We found differences between African American and European American women in the prevalence of HPV infection (38.1% African American, 30.7% European American) and abnormal Papanicolaou test results (9.8% African-American, 5.8% European American). While these differences did not reach statistical significance at enrollment, as the longitudinal data of this cohort are analyzed, the sample size will allow us to confirm these results and compare the natural history of HPV infection in college-aged African American and European American women.
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Improve Salivary Function and Reduce Lymphocytic Infiltrates in Mice with Sjögren's-Like Disease

Background Non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice develop Sjögren's-like disease (SS-like) with loss of saliva flow and increased lymphocytic infiltrates in salivary glands (SGs). There are recent reports using multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) as a therapeutic strategy for autoimmune diseases due to their anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory capabilities. This paper proposed a combined immuno- and cell-based therapy consisting of: A) an injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) to eradicate autoreactive T lymphocytes, and B) transplantations of MSCs to reselect lymphocytes. The objective of this was to test the effectiveness of CD45−/TER119− cells (MSCs) in re-establishing salivary function and in reducing the number of lymphocytic infiltrates (foci) in SGs. The second objective was to study if the mechanisms underlying a decrease in inflammation (focus score) was due to CFA, MSCs, or CFA+MSCs combined. Methodology/Principal Findings Donor MSCs were isolated from bones of male transgenic eGFP mice. Eight week-old female NOD mice received one of the following treatments: insulin, CFA, MSC, or CFA+MSC (combined therapy). Mice were followed for 14 weeks post-therapy. CD45−/TER119− cells demonstrated characteristics of MSCs as they were positive for Sca-1, CD106, CD105, CD73, CD29, CD44, negative for CD45, TER119, CD11b, had high number of CFU-F, and differentiated into osteocytes, chondrocytes and adipocytes. Both MSC and MSC+CFA groups prevented loss of saliva flow and reduced lymphocytic infiltrations in SGs. Moreover, the influx of T and B cells decreased in all foci in MSC and MSC+CFA groups, while the frequency of Foxp3+ (Treg) cell was increased. MSC-therapy alone reduced inflammation (TNF-α, TGF-β), but the combination of MSC+CFA reduced inflammation and increased the regenerative potential of SGs (FGF-2, EGF). Conclusions/Significance The combined use of MSC+CFA was effective in both preventing saliva secretion loss and reducing lymphocytic influx in salivary glands.
In Icpads'94: Intl. Conf. Parallel and Distributed Systems toward Semantic-based Parallelism in Production Systems

We propose a new approach for the parallel execution of production system programs. This approach embodies methods of decomposition abstraction using declarative mechanisms. Application semantics can then be exploited to achieve a much higher degree of concurrency. In this paper we present the underlying object-based framework of production systems and discuss the ensuing semantic-based dependency analysis technique. In particular, we deene a new notion of functional dependency to characterize associative relationships among data objects, which can be used to determine concurrently executable rules.
Advancing Gendered Analyses of Entrepreneurship: A Critical Exploration of Entrepreneurial Activity Among Gay Men and Lesbian Women

This paper advances contemporary gendered analyses of entrepreneurial activity by exploring self-employment amongst gay men and lesbian women. Within current entrepreneurial debate, heterosexual women have become the visible embodiment of the gendered subject. Our contribution is to queer this assumption when focusing upon the entrepreneurial activity of gays and lesbians. Our core question investigates if ‘there is evidence of differences between homosexuals and heterosexuals in their likelihood of being entrepreneurially active? ’ To address this question, we contrast competing notions of gender stereotypes and discrimination whilst drawing on findings from a large-scale population-based study of 163,000 UK adults. We find few differences between homosexuals and heterosexuals; this persists after examining intersectional patterns and considering if gay and lesbian entrepreneurs choose particular sectors, geographies or forms of self-employment. As our discussion highlights, the value of this study lies within its critique of contemporary analyses of gender which assume it is an end point rather than a foundation for analysing gender as a multiplicity.
Effects of salinity change on two superoxide dismutases (SODs) in juvenile marbled eel Anguilla marmorata

Salinity is one of the most important factors that affect the fish growth and survival. Superoxide dismutases (SODs), as the primary antioxidant enzymes, play a first role in the process of preventing oxidative stress caused by excessive superoxide anion (O\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{upgreek} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} }{}${}_{2}^{-}$\end{document}2−) in living organisms. In the present study, we investigated the effects of salinity on the gene expressions as well as enzymatic activities of MnSOD and Cu/ZnSOD in gill, intestine, kidney, liver and muscle tissues of the marbled eel Anguilla marmorata. We found that the liver might possess stronger redox capacity compared with other tissues. Furthermore, the gene expressions and enzymatic activities of SODs in juvenile marbled eels could be effectively enhanced by low salinity but inhibited when the salinity was higher than the body tolerance. Our findings indicated that MnSOD and Cu/ZnSOD played vital roles in the adaptation of marbled eels to salinity variation, which contributed to the elucidation of physiological adaptation and regulatory mechanism of SODs in eels.
Implicit racial bias and epistemic pessimism

Abstract Implicit bias results from living in a society structured by race. Tamar Gendler has drawn attention to several epistemic costs of implicit bias and concludes that paying some costs is unavoidable. In this paper, we reconstruct Gendler’s argument and argue that the epistemic costs she highlights can be avoided. Though epistemic agents encode discriminatory information from the environment, not all encoded information is activated. Agents can construct local epistemic environments that do not activate biasing representations, effectively avoiding the consequences of activation. We conclude that changing our local environments provides a way to avoid paying implicit bias’s epistemic costs.
The roles of self and society in the relationship between physical health, self-perception of aging, and depressive symptoms in later life

ii Acknowledgements . iv Vita . v List of Tables . x List of Figures . xi Chapter I: Introduction . 1 Chapter II: Literature Review . 8 2. 1. Depressive Symptoms among Older People . 8 2. 1. 1. Depression in later life . 8 2. 1. 2. Subsyndromal depression among older people . 9 2. 1. 3. Risk Factors of Late-life Depression . 10 2. 2. Physical Health, Functional Impairment, and Depressive Symptoms . 12 2. 3. Self-perception of Aging . 14 2. 3. 1. Stereotype Embodiment Theory . 14 2. 3. 2. Empirical Research on the Effects of Self-perception of Aging . 17 2. 3. 3. Age Schema and Self-perception of Aging . 21 2. 3. 4. Physical Health and Self-perception of Aging . 23 2. 3. 5. Consequence of Negative Self-perception of Aging on Mental Health . 24 2. 4. Perceived Emotional Support . 26 viii 2. 4. 1. Main Effect of Social Support on Depressive Symptoms . 27 2. 4. 2. Buffering Effect of Social Support . 28 2. 4. 3. Perceived Emotional Support and Cognition . 29 2. 5. Summaries of Literature Review and Research Hypotheses . 31 2. 5. 1. Summary of literature for research question 1 . 31 2. 5. 2. Summary of literature for research question 2 . 33 2. 5. 3. Summary of literature for research question 3 . 34 Chapter III: Methods . 36 3. 1. Data and Sample . 36 3. 1. 1. Description of Health and Retirement Study . 36 3. 1. 2. Survey Design . 37 3. 1. 3. Data Set . 38 3. 1. 4. Sample . 39 3. 2. Measures. 40 3. 2. 1. Dependent Variable . 40 3. 2. 2. Independent Variables . 41 3. 2. 3. Mediator . 42 3. 2. 4. Moderators . 42 3. 2. 5. Control Variables . 44 3. 3. Data Analyses . 45 3. 3. 1. Descriptive and Exploratory Analyses . 45 3. 3. 2. Structural Equation Modeling . 45 Chapter IV: Results . 54 ix 4. 1. Descriptive Statistics . 54 4. 2. Structural Equation Modeling for the Single Sample . 59 4. 2. 1. Measurement Model . 59 4. 2. 2. Orthogonalizing Procedures . 62 4. 2. 3. Structural Equation Model . 62 4. 2. 4. Moderating Effect of Perceived Emotional Support . 62 4. 2. 5. Mediating Effect of Self-perception of Aging . 67 4. 3. Multiple Group Comparison Models for Testing Moderating Effect of Age Schema 4. 3. 1. Baseline Model . 71 4. 3. 2. Measurement Model Invariance . 71 4. 3. 3. Moderating Effect of Age Schema . 72 Chapter V: Discussion . 78 5. 1. Summary of Findings . 78 5. 1. 1. The Mediating Effect of Self-perception of Aging . 78 5. 1. 2. Moderating Effect of Age Schema . 80 5. 1. 3. Moderating Effect of Perceived Emotional Support . 81 5. 2. Limitations and Future Directions . 83 5. 3. Significances of the Study . 85 5. 4. Implications for Research . 86 5. 5. Implications for Prevention and Intervention . 88 5. 6. Conclusion . 92 References . 94
Early Presymptomatic and Long-Term Changes of Rest Activity Cycles and Cognitive Behavior in a MPTP-Monkey Model of Parkinson's Disease

Background It is increasingly recognized that non-motor symptoms are a prominent feature of Parkinson's disease and in the case of cognitive deficits can precede onset of the characteristic motor symptoms. Here, we examine in 4 monkeys chronically treated with low doses of the neurotoxin MPTP the early and long-term alterations of rest-activity rhythms in relationship to the appearance of motor and cognitive symptoms. Methodology/Principal Findings Behavioral activity recordings as well as motor and cognitive assessments were carried out continuously and in parallel before, during and for several months following MPTP-treatment (12–56 weeks). Cognitive abilities were assessed using a task that is dependent on the functional integrity of the fronto-striatal axis. Rest-activity cycles were monitored continuously using infrared movement detectors of locomotor activity. Motor impairment was evaluated using standardized scales for primates. Results show that MPTP treatment led to an immediate alteration (within one week) of rest-activity cycles and cognitive deficits. Parkinsonian motor deficits only became apparent 3 to 5 weeks after initiating chronic MPTP administration. In three of the four animals studied, clinical scores returned to control levels 5–7 weeks following cessation of MPTP treatment. In contrast, both cognitive deficits and chronobiological alterations persisted for many months. Levodopa treatment led to an improvement of cognitive performance but did not affect rest-activity rhythms in the two cases tested. Conclusions/Significance Present results show that i) changes in the rest activity cycles constituted early detectable consequences of MPTP treatment and, along with cognitive alterations, characterize the presymptomatic stage; ii) following motor recovery there is a long-term persistence of non-motor symptoms that could reflect differential underlying compensatory mechanisms in these domains; iii) the progressive MPTP-monkey model of presymptomatic ongoing parkinsonism offers possibilities for in-depth studies of early non-motor symptoms including sleep alterations and cognitive deficits.
Does Augmentation with Alpha1-Antitrypsin Affect Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Formation?

Alpha1-Antitrypsin (AAT) is a major circulating inhibitor of neutrophil proteases, specifically elastase that has broad substrate specificity and can degrade many connective tissue matrix constituents. Severe inherited Z (Glu342Lys) deficiency of AAT (AATD) is characterized by a low serum AAT level (less than 20% of normal which is 11μM/L), the protease/antiprotease balance shift in favor of the elastase and an increased risk of early onset pulmonary emphysema. This lends support to the protease-antiprotease imbalance theory of the pathogenesis of emphysema and to AAT augmentation therapy.
Moral Emotions and Self-Construal in Charity Advertising: Communication on Focus

ABSTRACT Many charity organizations face ongoing challenges to promote monetary donations and other helping behaviors. Integrating the literature on the role of emotion in persuasive communication and intercultural communication, two studies were conducted to explore the impact of moral emotions and self-construal in charity advertising. A survey investigated the extent to which moral emotions with different referent of focus operated differently among individuals with varying self-construal in affecting the intent to donate. An experiment examined the impact of ego- versus other-focused emotional appeals in the processing of charity advertising. Results indicated that moral emotions significantly influenced participants' purchase intention towards social-cause products. In addition, self-construal moderated the influence of positive moral emotions on purchase intention, as well as the influence of positive emotional appeals on the intent to donate. Specifically, the persuasive effectiveness was enhanced when independents were associated with ego-focused emotions or ego-focused emotional appeals; and interdependents with other-focused emotions or other-focused emotional appeals. These two studies expanded the knowledge on the effects of emotions on communication and persuasion, and provided relevant implications for practitioners in creating effective messages to promote social causes. Limitations and directions for future research were also outlined.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder & Narrative Comprehension Deficits in College Students

OF THESIS ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER & NARRATIVE COMPREHENSION DEFICITS IN COLLEGE STUDENTS The current study examined if the narrative comprehension deficits that children with ADHD exhibit during childhood and adolescence continue in college students as a function of ADHD symptoms, and if a relationship existed between ADHD symptoms and self-efficacy. Children and adolescence with ADHD have difficulties in several areas of narrative comprehension, including maintaining goal structure, distinguishing important events from unimportant events, and making causal connections. If these deficits persist there also may be a relationship between ADHD symptoms and selfefficacy. Higher levels of ADHD symptomatology were associated with difficulties recalling story events in the college population. Some findings differed from the patterns observed for children and adolescents. College students with higher symptoms of ADHD recalled fewer events in the Growing Pains recall. However, unlike children and adolescents, college students with higher symptoms of ADHD did not recall fewer of the Growing Pains important events or causally connected events. The pattern of findings for the fables is consistent with that seen in research studying children with symptoms of ADHD. These deficits may lead to a serious deficit in academic outcomes within this population.
Supersymmetric monopole quantum mechanics on a sphere

We study $N=2$ supersymmetric quantum mechanics of a charged particle on sphere in the background of Dirac magnetic monopole. We adopt $CP(1)$ model approach in which the monopole interaction is free of singularity. It turns out that this approach admits a compact $N=2$ superspace formulation. In order to exploit manifest U(1) covariance in the superspace formalism, we introduce a gauged chiral superfield which is annihilated by the gauge covariant superderivative instead of the usual superderivative. We carry out the Dirac quantization of the resulting system and compute the quantum mechanical spectrum. We obtain the condition for the spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry explicitly in terms of the monopole charge and a parameter which characterizes the operator ordering ambiguity. We find that the supersymmetry is spontaneously broken unless a certain combination of these quantities satisfies some quantization condition.
Optimal parameterization selection for the brain-computer interface

The contribution deals with the optimization of the EEG off-line, single-trial movement classification by means of parameterization tuning. The data we classify represent manifestations of the simple movements performed by the right shoulder (proximal movement) and right index finger (distal movement) of experimental subjects. We implemented several approaches to the EEG parameterization and compared results in order to increase the recognition score. The results are compared with the results from our earlier works and will form a strong basis for the coming experiments with a new EEG database. The target of our experiments is the implementation of the Brain Computer Interface machine recognizing movements performed on one side of the body using the non-invasive EEG scanning.
Acceptance of health information technology in health professionals: An application of the revised technology acceptance model

The response of health professionals to the use of health information technology (HIT) is an important research topic that can partly explain the success or failure of any HIT application. The present study applied a modified version of the revised technology acceptance model (TAM) to assess the relevant beliefs and acceptance of HIT systems in a sample of health professionals (n = 133). Structured anonymous questionnaires were used and a cross-sectional design was employed. The main outcome measure was the intention to use HIT systems. ANOVA was employed to examine differences in TAM-related variables between nurses and medical doctors, and no significant differences were found. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the predictors of HIT usage intentions. The findings showed that perceived ease of use, but not usefulness, relevance and subjective norms directly predicted HIT usage intentions. The present findings suggest that a modification of the original TAM approach is needed to better understand health professionals’ support and endorsement of HIT. Perceived ease of use, relevance of HIT to the medical and nursing professions, as well as social influences, should be tapped by information campaigns aiming to enhance support for HIT in healthcare settings.