Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceiving Prosody from the Face and Voice: Distinguishing Statements from Echoic Questions in English

We examined the processing of potential auditory and visual cues that differentiate statements from echoic questions. In Experiment 1, four natural speech statement-question pairs were identified by participants, and then analyzed to determine which characteristics were ecologically valid. These characteristics were tested in subsequent experiments to determine if they were also functionally valid. In Experiment 2, the characteristics of the most discriminable utterance pair were successfully extended to the other utterance pairs. For Experiment 3, an auditory continuum (varying in F0, amplitude, duration) was crossed with a visual continuum (varying in eyebrow raise, head tilt), using synthetic speech and a computer-animated head. Participants judged five levels along each of these two speech continua between a prototypical statement and prototypical question, in an expanded factorial design. Experiments 4 and 5 were unable to appreciably enhance the weak visual effect relative to the strong auditory effect (from Experiment 3). Overall, we found that both auditory and visual cues reliably conveyed statement and question intonation, were successfully synthesized, and generalized to other utterances. However, the weak visual effect relative to the robustly strong auditory effect precluded optimal integration and conclusive examination of information processing through model-fitting.
Employer Characteristics and the Provision of Family Responsive Policies

This article reviews what we know about the family benefits and working conditions associated with low levels of job-family stress, and the distribution of such benefits among American employers. We discuss what organizational characteristics are likely to be associated with the provision of family benefits, and test those propositions using data on the employers of 325 employed pregnant women. Our findings indicate that firm size and unionization are the most powerful determinants of formal benefits. However, there seems to be a downside to employment in large firms, organized firms, or both. Informal concessions to family needs and personnel policies that depend on supervisor cooperation are less likely to occur. More surprising was the fact that self-employment of the type typically held by employed mothers did not significantly improve their schedule flexibility, leave benefits, or access to child care.
O(N)-invariant Hierarchical Renormalization Group Fixed Points by Algebraic Numerical Computation and \epsilon-Expansion

Generalizing methods developed by Pinn, Pordt and Wieczerkowski for the hierarchical model with one component (N=1) and dimensions d between 2 and 4 we compute O(N)-symmetric fixed points of the hierarchical renormalization group equation for some N and d with 0 < d < 4 and -2 <= N <= 20. The spectra of the linearized RG equation at the fixed points are calculated and the critical exponents \nu are extracted from the spectrum and compared to Borel-Pade-resummed \epsilon-expansion.
Giant myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma with bone invasion: a very rare clinical entity and literature review

Myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma (MIFS) is a rare low-grade, malignant soft tissue tumor that is usually observed in the extremities of adult patients. Magnetic resonance imaging findings for this tumor type have rarely been reported. We report a case involving the distal left femur of a middle-aged man and tumoral invasion of the bone, which, to our knowledge, has been previously described only once. He was treated with distal femoral tumor resection and reconstruction with a modular prosthesis. Histopathologic diagnosis confirmed MIFS. We reviewed literature of the diagnostic imaging and bone invasion findings associated with this tumor type.
Heterogeneity in Autonomic Arousal Level in Perseverative Worry: The Role of Cognitive Control and Verbal Thought

One puzzle in high worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is the heterogeneity in the level of autonomic arousal symptoms seen among affected individuals. While current models agree that worry persists, in part, because it fosters avoidance of unpleasant internal experiences, they disagree as to whether worry does so by suppressing activation of autonomic arousal or by fostering persistent autonomic hyperarousal. Our Cognitive Control Model predicts that which pattern of autonomic arousal occurs depends on whether or not a worrier has sufficient cognitive control capacity to worry primarily in a verbal versus imagery-based manner. Because this model has been supported by only one study to date, the present study sought to replicate and extend that study’s findings. Results from an online survey in an unselected sample of over 900 college students provide further support for our model’s central tenet and initial support for its prediction that higher effortful control is associated with a higher percentage of verbal thought during worry. Finally, we report tentative evidence that autonomic arousal symptoms in worry and GAD vary as a function of individual differences in cognitive control capacity because higher capacity is linked to a greater predominance of verbal thought during worry.
Homeschool Parents and Satisfaction with Special Education Services

ABSTRACT Homeschooling is controversial for a variety of reasons. One concern is whether families are sufficiently equipped to serve students with disabilities. We investigate this issue by assessing parental satisfaction with the special education services that their child is receiving in various educational sectors (e.g., homeschool, traditional public, public charter, and private). Using a nationally representative sample of U.S. households from the National Household Education Survey, we find that parents who homeschool are more satisfied than parents of children in traditional public schools and a variety of private schools with the special education services that they are receiving. Despite obvious selection bias in our sample, we view parental satisfaction as one of many important indicators for the quality of special education services. The results from this study suggest that homeschooling is a potentially beneficial option for serving students with disabilities, though additional research examining other student outcomes would be invaluable.
Building Efficiency and Sustainability in the Tropics ( SinBerBEST ) Title Social Game for Building Energy Efficiency : Utility Learning , Simulation , and Analysis

We describe a social game that we designed for encouraging energy e cient behavior amongst building occupants with the aim of reducing overall energy consumption in the building. Occupants vote for their desired lighting level and win points which are used in a lottery based on how far their vote is from the maximum setting. We assume that the occupants are utility maximizers and that their utility functions capture the tradeo↵ between winning points and their comfort level. We model the occupants as non-cooperative agents in a continuous game and we characterize their play using the Nash equilibrium concept. Using occupant voting data, we parameterize their utility functions and use a convex optimization problem to estimate the parameters. We simulate the game defined by the estimated utility functions and show that the estimated model for occupant behavior is a good predictor of their actual behavior. In addition, we show that due to the social game, there is a significant reduction in energy consumption.
The Boundaries Between Normality, ADHD and PBD in Child Psychiatric Clinical Practice

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is considered one of the most common neurobehavioral disorders of childhood. Clinical descriptions and diagnostic criteria for ADHD have been redefined over time; current conceptualization of the syndrome is characterized by lack of attention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity. Epidemiological studies show large differences in the incidence, indicating that the effort of current taxonomic systems to offer diagnostic accuracy have not yielded substantial results. Bipolar Disorder (BD) with onset in childhood, commonly referred as Pediatric Bipolar Disorder (PBD), is distinguished from the adult type by the rarity of affective symptoms. Neither depressive mood nor hypomanic euphoria is apparent in the clinical picture of bipolar children and adolescents. Instead they exhibit a severe irritability and their symptoms are expressed in consecutive cycles, which include brief episodes of depressive, hypomanic, manic or mixed periods without free intervals. There has been a delay in the recognition of this clinical picture. Nevertheless, the diagnostic criteria in the current taxonomic systems are not separated from those of adults. The contemporary literature contemplates the relationship between ADHD and PBD. These two disorders share similar clinical picture with slight variations, thus the differential diagnosis in favour of PBD mainly based on the presence of affective disorders in the family. In this paper, we try to examine whether comorbidity exists, whether ADHD is over-diagnosed against PBD or whether ADHD represents a prodromal manifestation of PBD. Children with ADHD-PBD comorbidity tend to express mostly an irritable phenotype with a chronic course and have higher rates of conduct disorders. This suggests a symptomatic continuum spectrum between ADHD and PBD which is possibly responsible for the difficulties met in differential diagnosis and the variation of comorbidity rates. It seems that the earlier the onset of PBD more often it is associated with symptoms of ADHD. The relationship between PBD and ADHD has important implications for treatment. The diagnostic confusion regarding the evaluation and relationship of these two clinical entities is strongly reflected in the proposed course of pharmaceutical treatment. The diagnostic issues concerning the diagnosis of ADHD versus PBD and their entangled relationship refer to the difficulty of defining the limits of normal and abnormal in the mental health of children and adolescents and the limitation of the taxonomic systems in respect to the particularities of this developmental age spectrum.
VLT observations of the peculiar globular cluster NGC 6712, II: luminosity and mass functions

We have carried out extensive VLT-FORS1 observations covering a fair fraction of the intermediate metallicity globular cluster NGC 6712 in the V and R bands. We derive accurate colour-magnitude diagrammes (CMD) and luminosity functions (LFs) of the cluster main sequence (MS) for four overlapping fields extending from the centre of the cluster out to a radius of ~10', well beyond the nominal tidal radius, and for a control field at ~42' distance. The LFs extend from the cluster turn-off (TO) at M_R 4 to the point at which the incompleteness drops below 50% (corresponding to R 23 or M_R 7.5) for most fields studied. Cluster stars become indistinguishable from field stars at r 5'. The shape of the cluster's LF and its variation with distance from the centre in these ranges are well described by a standard multi-mass static model having the following parameters: core radius r_c=1', half-light radius r_hl=1.8', tidal radius r_t=5.2', concentration ratio c=0.7, and a power-law global mass function (MF) with index alpha 0.9 for masses smaller than 0.8 Msolar, i.e. for all detected MS stars, and alpha -2.35 for evolved objects. The MF obtained in this way is consistent with that found in a preliminary investigation of this cluster with the VLT Test Camera and confirms that this is the only globular cluster known so far for which the global MF drops with decreasing mass below the TO. Possible reasons for this unique characteristic are discussed with the most likely associated with its extreme vulnerability to tidal disruption.
16S rRNA Gene Pyrosequencing Reveals Bacterial Dysbiosis in the Duodenum of Dogs with Idiopathic Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background Canine idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is believed to be caused by a complex interaction of genetic, immunologic, and microbial factors. While mucosa-associated bacteria have been implicated in the pathogenesis of canine IBD, detailed studies investigating the enteric microbiota using deep sequencing techniques are lacking. The objective of this study was to evaluate mucosa-adherent microbiota in the duodenum of dogs with spontaneous idiopathic IBD using 16 S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. Methodology/Principal Findings Biopsy samples of small intestinal mucosa were collected endoscopically from healthy dogs (n = 6) and dogs with moderate IBD (n = 7) or severe IBD (n = 7) as assessed by a clinical disease activity index. Total RNA was extracted from biopsy specimens and 454-pyrosequencing of the 16 S rRNA gene was performed on aliquots of cDNA from each dog. Intestinal inflammation was associated with significant differences in the composition of the intestinal microbiota when compared to healthy dogs. PCoA plots based on the unweighted UniFrac distance metric indicated clustering of samples between healthy dogs and dogs with IBD (ANOSIM, p<0.001). Proportions of Fusobacteria (p = 0.010), Bacteroidaceae (p = 0.015), Prevotellaceae (p = 0.022), and Clostridiales (p = 0.019) were significantly more abundant in healthy dogs. In contrast, specific bacterial genera within Proteobacteria, including Diaphorobacter (p = 0.044) and Acinetobacter (p = 0.040), were either more abundant or more frequently identified in IBD dogs. Conclusions/Significance In conclusion, dogs with spontaneous IBD exhibit alterations in microbial groups, which bear resemblance to dysbiosis reported in humans with chronic intestinal inflammation. These bacterial groups may serve as useful targets for monitoring intestinal inflammation.
Validation of the Hsp70–Bag3 Protein–Protein Interaction as a Potential Therapeutic Target in Cancer

Hsp70 is a stress-inducible molecular chaperone that is required for cancer development at several steps. Targeting the active site of Hsp70 has proven relatively challenging, driving interest in alternative approaches. Hsp70 collaborates with the Bcl2-associated athanogene 3 (Bag3) to promote cell survival through multiple pathways, including FoxM1. Therefore, inhibitors of the Hsp70–Bag3 protein–protein interaction (PPI) may provide a noncanonical way to target this chaperone. We report that JG-98, an allosteric inhibitor of this PPI, indeed has antiproliferative activity (EC50 values between 0.3 and 4 μmol/L) across cancer cell lines from multiple origins. JG-98 destabilized FoxM1 and relieved suppression of downstream effectors, including p21 and p27. On the basis of these findings, JG-98 was evaluated in mice for pharmacokinetics, tolerability, and activity in two xenograft models. The results suggested that the Hsp70–Bag3 interaction may be a promising, new target for anticancer therapy. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(3); 642–8. ©2015 AACR.
Prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and factors associated with syphilis among female sex workers in Panama

Objectives Biological and behavioural surveillance of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among populations at highest risk have been used to monitor trends in prevalence and in risk behaviours. Sex work in Panama is regulated through registration with the Social Hygiene Programme, Ministry of Health. We estimated prevalence of HIV and STIs, and factors associated with active syphilis among female sex workers (FSWs). Methods A cross-sectional study using venue-based, time-space sampling was conducted among FSWs in Panama from 2009 to 2010. FSWs were interviewed about sociodemographic characteristics, sexual risk behaviour, health history and drug use using an anonymous structured questionnaire. Blood was collected for serological testing of HIV and other STIs. Factors associated with active syphilis were studied using logistic regression analysis. Results The overall HIV-1 prevalence of 0.7% varied by FSW category; 1.6% in 379 unregistered, and 0.2% in 620 registered FSWs. Overall prevalence (and 95% CI) of STIs were: syphilis antibody, 3.8% (2.7% to 5.2%); herpes simplex virus type 2 antibody (anti-HSV-2), 74.2% (71.4% to 76.9%); hepatitis B surface antigen, 0.6% (0.2% to 1.3%); hepatitis B core antibody, 8.7% (7.0% to 10.6%); and hepatitis C antibody, 0.2% (0.0% to 0.7%). In multivariate analysis, registration (adjusted OR (AOR)=0.35; 95% CI 0.16 to 0.74), having a history of STI (AOR=2.37; 95% CI 1.01 to 5.58), forced sex (AOR=2.47; 95% CI 1.11 to 5.48), and anti-HSV-2 (AOR=10.05; 95% CI 1.36 to 74.38) were associated with active syphilis. Conclusions Although HIV prevalence is low among FSWs in Panama, unregistered FSWs bear a higher burden of HIV and STIs than registered FSWs. Programmes aimed at overcoming obstacles to registration, and HIV, STI and harm reduction among unregistered FSWs is warranted to prevent HIV transmission, and to improve their sexual and reproductive health.
De Gustibus Non Est Taxandum: Heterogeneity in Preferences and Optimal Redistribution

The prominent but unproven intuition that preference heterogeneity reduces redistribution in a standard optimal tax model is shown to hold under the plausible condition that the distribution of preferences for consumption relative to leisure rises, in terms of first-order stochastic dominance, with income. Given familiar functional form assumptions on utility and the distributions of ability and preferences, a simple statistic for the effect of preference heterogeneity on marginal tax rates is derived. Numerical simulations and suggestive empirical evidence demonstrate the link between this potentially measurable statistic and the quantitative implications of preference heterogeneity for policy.
Sleep disorders in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing dialysis therapy.

BACKGROUND Many patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing dialysis therapy suffer from sleep disturbances. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of sleep disorders in a large population of uraemic patients recruited from 20 different dialytic centres in Triveneto. METHODS 883 patients on maintenance dialysis were enrolled in the study. Demographic, lifestyle, renal and dialysis data were recorded. Renal parameters were compared with the database of the Veneto Dialysis Register. Using a self-administered questionnaire we assessed the presence of the following sleep disorders: insomnia, restless leg syndrome (RLS), obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS), excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), possible narcolepsy, sleepwalking, nightmares and possible rapid eye movement behaviour disorders (RBD). Moreover, in order to determine the prevalence of sleep disturbances and the possible effect of demographic or clinical data on sleep, we divided our population into two groups: with (SLEEP+) and without (SLEEP-) sleep disorders. RESULTS The questionnaire revealed the presence of insomnia (69.1%), RLS (18.4%), OSAS (23.6%), EDS (11.8%), possible narcolepsy (1.4%), sleepwalking (2.1%), nightmares (13.3%) and possible RBD (2.3%). Eighty percent demonstrated SLEEP+, having at least one sleep disorder. Independent risk factors for sleep disorders were advanced age (P<0.001), excessive alcohol intake (P<0.04), cigarette smoking (P<0.006), polyneuropathy (P<0.05) and dialysis shift in the morning (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The questionnaire showed a high presence of sleep disruption in dialytic populations. Awareness by Italian nephrologists regarding sleep disruption seems to be insufficient. Our data might help nephrologists to deal with uraemic patients with possible sleep disorders. Concerning the high prevalence of possible narcolepsy, further studies using polysomnographic records are necessary to confirm our results.
Explicit construction of quadratic Lyapunov functions for the small gain, positivity, circle and Popov theorems and their application to robust stability

Lyapunov function proofs of sufficient conditions for asymptotic stability are given for feedback interconnections of bounded real and positive real transfer functions. Two cases are considered: a proper bounded real (resp., positive real) transfer function with a bounded real (resp., positive real) time-varying memoryless nonlinearity; and two strictly proper bounded real (resp., positive real) transfer functions. A similar treatment is given for the circle and Popov theorems. Application of these results to robust stability with time-varying bounded real, positive real, and sector-bounded uncertainty is discussed. <<ETX>>
Primary motor cortex and fast feedback responses to mechanical perturbations: a primer on what we know now and some suggestions on what we should find out next

Many researchers have drawn a clear distinction between fast feedback responses to mechanical perturbations (e.g., stretch responses) and voluntary control processes. But this simple distinction is difficult to reconcile with growing evidence that long-latency stretch responses share most of the defining capabilities of voluntary control. My general view—and I believe a growing consensus—is that the functional similarities between long-latency stretch responses and voluntary control processes can be readily understood based on their shared neural circuitry, especially a transcortical pathway through primary motor cortex. Here I provide a very brief and selective account of the human and monkey studies linking a transcortical pathway through primary motor cortex to the generation and functional sophistication of the long-latency stretch response. I then lay out some of the notable issues that are ready to be answered.
Iterative decoding of BDPSK modulated LDPC codes using two-symbol-interval observations

This paper studies the detection and decoding of LDPC encoded, interleaved, BDPSK-modulated symbols on the correlated flat Rayleigh fading channel using two-symbol-interval observations. The log-likelihood metric is derived for sum-product decoders. For each hypothesized code bit, the metric depends on two consecutive received signals and only on two other variables: the received SNR per bit and the fade rate. We simulate the performance of the system with this metric, and compare it with that of other metrics that do not take into account the fade rate. Numerical results are given for different codes. In practice, the fade rate may not be precisely known at the receiver, so we also examine how the system performance is affected if the actual fade rate differs from the assumed fade rate.
On-Line Palmprint Identification

 Biometrics based personal identification is regarded as an effective method for automatically recognizing, with a high confidence, a person's identity. This paper presents a new biometric approach to on-line personal identification using palmprint technology. In contrast to the existing methods, our on-line palmprint identification system employs low-resolution palmprint images to achieve effective personal identification. The system consists of two parts: a novel device for on-line palmprint image acquisition, and an efficient algorithm for fast palmprint recognition. A robust image coordinate system is defined to facilitate image alignment for feature extraction. In addition, a 2-D Gabor phase encoding scheme is proposed for palmprint feature extraction and representation. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system.
Orbifold Euler characteristics for dual invertible polynomials

To construct mirror symmetric Landau-Ginzburg models, P.Berglund, T.H\"ubsch and M.Henningson considered a pair $(f,G)$ consisting of an invertible polynomial $f$ and an abelian group $G$ of its symmetries together with a dual pair $(\widetilde{f}, \widetilde{G})$. Here we study the reduced orbifold Euler characteristics of the Milnor fibres of $f$ and $\widetilde f$ with the actions of the groups $G$ and $\widetilde G$ respectively and show that they coincide up to a sign.