Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Subcortical Modulation of Attention Counters Change Blindness

Change blindness is the failure to see large changes in a visual scene that occur simultaneously with a global visual transient. Such visual transients might be brief blanks between visual scenes or the blurs caused by rapid or saccadic eye movements between successive fixations. Shifting attention to the site of the change counters this “blindness” by improving change detection and reaction time. We developed a change blindness paradigm for visual motion and then showed that presenting an attentional cue diminished the blindness in both humans and old world monkeys. We then replaced the visual cue with weak electrical stimulation of an area in the monkey's brainstem, the superior colliculus, to see if activation at such a late stage in the eye movement control system contributes to the attentional shift that counters change blindness. With this stimulation, monkeys more easily detected changes and had shorter reaction times, both characteristics of a shift of attention.
Topics of Social Conversation in the Work Place: A South African Perspective

The aim of the study was to analyze topics that occur in social conversations between employees in a University employment context. Samples of social conversation of 6 participants without disabilities were recorded on 9 days. The samples were analyzed for topics referenced under the three referential frames of time, person, and content. Results indicate that the topics of present, self and food were most frequently referenced under each of the three frames. Analysis of the content frame indicated the presence of three topics that were referenced frequently in all samples. Other topics were referenced frequently in only some samples. Comparisons were made between these findings and two previous investigations into topic use by adults from a Western culture. Overlap—particularly in more frequently referenced topics—suggested the presence of topics, which seemed to occur commonly in adult conversations, and, more specifically, conversations in the workplace. The topics identified in this study are discussed in terms of implications for guiding AAC intervention.
Divorce Israeli Style: Professional Perceptions of Gender and Power in Mediated and Lawyer-Negotiated Divorces

This study examines how the power of women is constructed by divorce professionals in a divorce process that is governed by rabbinical family law, the egalitarian ideology of the recently established family courts, and the growing use of mediation in divorce disputes. It is based on 254 questionnaires and 57 interviews with lawyers, mediators, and lawyer-mediators. We found that except for a minority of women lawyers, practitioners claimed that women were not disadvantaged by family law, and that mediation does not adversely affect weaker parties. However, their reactions to hypothetical situations indicated that rabbinical law does matter for women's bargaining power, and for lawyers' recommendations for mediation. This study reveals the complexities of the social construction of gender and power in divorce negotiations and the role of women professionals in empowering divorcing women.
Wanting Change: The Relationship of Perceptions of Organizational Innovation With Correctional Staff Job Stress, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment

Correctional organizations need committed, relatively unstressed, and satisfied staff. Thus, it is important to identify and understand the factors that help shape the job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment of correctional workers. Past research has shown that many different dimensions of the work environment are important predictors. Yet not all dimensions of the work environment have been examined, including perceptions of organizational innovation. Thus, it is unclear whether and how perceptions of organizational innovation may influence the job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment of correctional employees. Using survey data from staff at a Midwestern correctional facility, the effects of perceptions of organizational innovation are studied while controlling for the shared effects of other salient work environment dimensions (i.e., job variety, job autonomy, and perceived dangerousness of the job) and personal characteristics (i.e., gender, age, position, tenure, educational level, and race). In multivariate analyses, perceptions of organizational innovation had a statistically negative association with job stress, whereas it had statistically significant positive associations with job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
Upper Bounds for Error Rates of Linear Combinations of Classifiers

A useful notion of weak dependence between many classifiers constructed with the same training data is introduced. It is shown that if both this weak dependence is low and the expected margins are large, then decision rules based on linear combinations of these classifiers can achieve error rates that decrease exponentially fast. Empirical results with randomized trees and trees constructed via boosting and bagging show that weak dependence is present in these type of trees. Furthermore, these results also suggest that there is a trade-off between weak dependence and expected margins, in the sense that to compensate for low expected margins, there should be low mutual dependence between the classifiers involved in the linear combination.
Peripheral Target Regulation of the Development and Survival of Spinal Sensory and Motor Neurons in the Chick Embryo

Unilateral limb-bud removal (LBR) before the outgrowth of sensory or motor neurons to the leg of chick embryos was used to examine the role of limb (target)-derived signals in the development and survival of lumbar motoneurons and sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG). After LBR, motor and sensory neurons underwent normal initial histological differentiation, and cell growth in both populations was unaffected. Before their death, target-deprived motoneurons also expressed a cell-specific marker, the homeodomain protein islet-1. Proliferation of sensory and motor precursor cells was also unaffected by LBR, and the migration of neural crest cells to the DRG and of motoneurons into the ventral horn occurred normally. During the normal period of programmed cell death (PCD), increased numbers of both sensory and motor neurons degenerated after LBR. However, whereas motoneuron loss increased by 40–50% (90% total), only ∼25% more sensory neurons degenerated after LBR. A significant number of the surviving sensory neurons projected to aberrant targets in the tail after LBR, and many of these were lost after ablation of both the limb and tail. Treatment with neurotrophic factors (or muscle extract) rescued sensory and motor neurons from cell death after LBR without affecting precursor proliferation of either population. Activity blockade with curare failed to rescue motoneurons after LBR, and combined treatment with curare plus muscle extract was no more effective than muscle extract alone. Treatment with the antioxidantN-acetylcysteine rescued motoneurons from normal cell death but not after LBR. Two specific inhibitors of the interleukin β1 converting enzyme (ICE) family of cysteine proteases also failed to prevent motoneuron death after LBR. Taken together these data provide definitive evidence that the loss of spinal neurons after LBR cannot be attributed to altered proliferation, migration, or differentiation. Rather, in the absence of limb-derived trophic signals, the affected neurons fail to survive and undergo PCD. Although normal cell death and cell death after target deprivation share many features in common, the intracellular pathways of cell death in the two may be distinct.
Ceramics for the Future: Advanced Millimeter-Wave Multilayer Multichip Module Integration and Packaging

The advantages of higher-frequency operation, such as wider bandwidth and finer spatial and temporal resolution, have led to increased interest in the use of millimeter-waves (mmWs) in both commercial and military applications-covering, in particular, areas ranging from high-speed wireless communication (including wireless local area networking, wireless gigabit communication, sensor networks, and fifthgeneration systems) to space science to security [1]-[5]. For biological and health applications, mmW imaging offers a superior, safer, and lower-cost alternative to conventional techniques [6], [7].
The Arrival and Diffusion of Academic Medicine in Rural Sweden: The Case of the Sundsvall Region in the late Nineteenth Century

his study examines the numerous logistical, cultural and psychological obstacles that midwives had to overcome before women in the Sundsvall region of Sweden would entrust them to deliver their infants. By extension, this analysis reveals the tenuous position academic medicine had in many remote villages. These well-trained women benefitted from numerous pieces of legislation designed to enable them to replace the help-women who remained their greatest rivals. None the less, trained doctors and midwives often encountered resistance among local populations. Historians have tended to focus attention on the work of individual physicians and the consequences of government intervention without paying much attention to the patients themselves and the reasons they either accepted or rejected the people sent to provide medical care. This paper represents an attempt to address this imbalance by suggesting how theories of diffusion, concepts of trust, and perceptions of risk can help us understand the decisions made by people confronted with new medical practitioners. Diffusion theory provides an opportunity to illuminate the process by which the acceptance of academic medicine, here represented by an increased willingness to have midwives attend births, diffused through the Sundsvall region of Sweden during the second half of the nineteenth century. Certainly the role of formal legislation, medical associations, and the practices of individual medical practitioners were critical to the introduction of new innovations. No one should dismiss the integral role these agents played in making academic medicine available to the public. Unfortunately, historians have tended to place less atten-
A CLASS OF SECOND DERIVATIVE MULTISTEP METHODS FOR STIFF SYSTEMS

In this paper we present details of a new class of implicit formu- las of linear multistep methods to integrate ordinary dierential equations (ODE) numerically. The formulas require the knowledge of functions not only at the past and present step-points, but also at the one future point. In order to obtain higher order A-stable, multistep methods, we have used second derivative of the solutions, additional stages and one future point, which give a class of ecient linear multistep methods. This approach allows us to develop L-stable schemes of order up to 8 and L( )-stable schemes of order up to 12. The stability analysis is discussed and an improvement is obtained in stability region. A good comparison between the results of this class and the results due to others, demonstrate that this class is suitable for sti systems.
Understanding Process and Affective Factors in Small Group versus Individual Learning with Technology

Based on 198 independent findings from 71 studies with experimental or statistical controls, the results of this meta-analysis indicate that, on average, students learning with computers in small groups attempted a greater amount of task (d+ = +0.15), used more learning strategies (d+ = +0.36), had more positive attitude toward small group learning (d+ = +0.54), but needed more task completion time (d+ = −0.21) as compared to students learning with computers individually. No significant difference was found on student attitude toward instruction whether they learned in small groups or individually. However, effect sizes varied significantly, ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative in each of the outcomes analyzed. Significant predictors concerning technology and task characteristics included type of programs, instructional control, feedback, and task structure. Significant predictors concerning grouping and learner characteristics included group learning strategy, group work experience, and group size.
The causes, phenomenology, and consequences of hurt feelings

One hundred sixty-four participants recounted situations in which their feelings had been hurt (victim accounts) or in which they had hurt another person's feelings (perpetrator accounts) and then completed a questionnaire. Hurt feelings were precipitated by events that connoted relational devaluation, and the victims' distress correlated strongly with feelings of rejection. Victims were typically hurt by people whom they knew well, suggesting that familiarity or closeness played a role. Analyses of the subjective experience revealed that hurt feelings are characterized by undifferentiated negative affect that is often accompanied by emotions such as anxiety and hostility. Victims' responses to the event were related to their attributions for the perpetrators' actions, and hurtful episodes typically had negative repercussions for the relationships between perpetrators and victims.
Through Biometric Card in Romania: Person Identification by Face, Fingerprint and Voice Recognition

In this paper three different approaches for person verification and identification, i.e. by means of fingerprints, face and voice recognition, are studied. Face recognition uses parts-based representation methods and a manifold learning approach. The assessment criterion is recognition accuracy. The techniques under investigation are: a) Local Non-negative Matrix Factorization (LNMF); b) Independent Components Analysis (ICA); c) NMF with sparse constraints (NMFsc); d) Locality Preserving Projections (Laplacianfaces). Fingerprint detection was approached by classical minutiae (small graphical patterns) matching through image segmentation by using a structural approach and a neural network as decision block. As to voice / speaker recognition, melodic cepstral and delta delta mel cepstral analysis were used as main methods, in order to construct a supervised speaker-dependent voice recognition system. The final decision (e.g. "accept-reject" for a verification task) is taken by using a majority voting technique applied to the three biometrics. The preliminary results, obtained for medium databases of fingerprints, faces and voice recordings, indicate the feasibility of our study and an overall recognition precision (about 92%) permitting the utilization of our system for a future complex biometric card.
The Impact of Gender on Hospitality Undergraduates' Perceived Career Barriers

The purpose of this study was to examine whether gender is associated with hospitality undergraduates' perceived career barriers and how gender affects two career-related variables (career decision self-efficacy and tendency to foreclose) when considering internal or external career barriers. Results revealed that female and male students perceived career barriers differently: Females were more sensitive to gender issues than males, whereas males were less likely to explore their career options as fully as females. Implications and recommendations for hospitality educators and career advising are included in this study.
Antibody Targeting of “Steady-State” Dendritic Cells Induces Tolerance Mediated by Regulatory T Cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) are often defined as pivotal inducers of immunity, but these proinflammatory properties only develop after stimulation or ex vivo manipulation of DCs. Under non-inflammatory conditions in vivo, DCs are embedded into a tissue environment and encounter a plethora of self-antigens derived from apoptotic material. This material is transported to secondary lymphoid organs. As DCs maintain their non-activated phenotype in a sterile tissue environment, interaction with T cells will induce rather regulatory T cells than effector T cells. Thus, DCs are not only inducers of immunity but are also critical for maintenance of peripheral tolerance. Therapeutically, intervention for the induction of long-lasting tolerance in several autoimmune conditions may therefore be possible by manipulating DC activation and/or targeting of DCs in their “natural” tissue environment.
The Nature, Use and Acquisition of Managerial Skills and other Attributes

This paper is concerned with two questions: 1 What are the kinds of skills and other qualities in managers that contribute to managerial success and performance in various forms? 2 To what extent are these acquired by learning, and what are the sources of such learning? The aim is to propose and test a general framework or taxonomy describing what managers might need to learn, and to understand from where existing managers have acquired the skills and qualities they currently use. This further allows us to draw some conclusions about the part played by deliberate training and education activities, in comparison with ‘natural’ ones, in the development of managers. The paper considers and reports in turn on existing theories and research relevant to managerial qualities, a hypothetical model of such qualities, an empirical test of the models, and the results of a study of the sources involved in the acquisition of specific qualities contributing to successful management actions in a sample of managers.
Relational Autonomy as the Key to Effective Behavioral Change

Abstract: The common health problems that plague Americans today are often the result of people’s choices and behaviors. Two theories to effectuate change are self-determination theory (SDT) and motivational interviewing (MI). Patient autonomy is central to both of these theories, but neither fully develops the concept. We describe a theory of autonomy called relational autonomy that provides a robust foundation to help these techniques succeed not only in effecting behavioral changes, but also in supporting capacities for autonomy. Our theory of relational autonomy incorporates three components: self-determination, self-cohesion, and self-respect. We delineate how these capacities are vulnerable in the healthcare setting and demonstrate how SDT and MI, bolstered by a theory of relational autonomy, can promote and sustain these capacities and behavioral changes in patients. Additionally, SDT and MI provide practical guidelines to healthcare providers about how to support the autonomy of vulnerable patients.
SNP microarray-based 24 chromosome aneuploidy screening is significantly more consistent than FISH

Many studies estimate that chromosomal mosaicism within the cleavage-stage human embryo is high. However, comparison of two unique methods of aneuploidy screening of blastomeres within the same embryo has not been conducted and may indicate whether mosaicism has been overestimated due to technical inconsistency rather than the biological phenomena. The present study investigates the prevalence of chromosomal abnormality and mosaicism found with two different single cell aneuploidy screening techniques. Thirteen arrested cleavage-stage embryos were studied. Each was biopsied into individual cells (n = 160). The cells from each embryo were randomized into two groups. Those destined for FISH-based aneuploidy screening (n = 75) were fixed, one cell per slide. Cells for SNP microarray-based aneuploidy screening (n = 85) were put into individual tubes. Microarray was significantly more reliable (96%) than FISH (83%) for providing an interpretable result (P = 0.004). Markedly different results were obtained when comparing microarray and FISH results from individual embryos. Mosaicism was significantly less commonly observed by microarray (31%) than by FISH (100%) (P = 0.0005). Although FISH evaluated fewer chromosomes per cell and fewer cells per embryo, FISH still displayed significantly more unique genetic diagnoses per embryo (3.2 ± 0.2) than microarray (1.3 ± 0.2) (P < 0.0001). This is the first prospective, randomized, blinded and paired comparison between microarray and FISH-based aneuploidy screening. SNP microarray-based 24 chromosome aneuploidy screening provides more complete and consistent results than FISH. These results also suggest that FISH technology may overestimate the contribution of mitotic error to the origin of aneuploidy at the cleavage stage of human embryogenesis.
Noninvasive mechanical ventilation improves endurance performance in patients with chronic respiratory failure due to thoracic restriction.

OBJECTIVE Treatment with noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NMV) alleviates hypoventilation and improves gas exchange in patients with chronic respiratory failure (CRF) due to thoracic restriction. However, little is known about the effects of NMV on respiratory and peripheral muscle endurance. DESIGN Prospective case-control study. SUBJECTS Ten patients in clinically stable condition (age, 53.5 +/- 8.2 years [mean +/- SD]) with mild-to-moderate CRF due to thoracic restriction (PCO(2) between 45 mm Hg and 55 mm Hg) were treated with NMV during the night for 3 months. Ten matched patients (age, 52.2 +/- 9.5 years) receiving 3 months of normal care without NMV served as a control group. INTERVENTION AND MEASUREMENTS After a 3-day period of familiarization with the endurance tests, all patients performed a baseline preintervention inspiratory threshold loading test, cycle ergometer test, and shuttle walking test on the same day. The endurance tests were then repeated following the 3-month intervention period. RESULTS NMV was used on average for 7.1 +/- 0.9 h/d during the 3-month period. There was a significant improvement in endurance time (p < 0.0001) in all three endurance tests in the NMV group compared with the control group. In the NMV group, endurance time increased by 278 +/- 269% during the inspiratory threshold loading test, by 176 +/- 159% during the cycle ergometer test, and by 32 +/- 22% during the shuttle walking test. Significant improvements (p < 0.01) in both PO(2) and PCO(2) were also observed in the NMV group but not in the control group. CONCLUSIONS Three months of treatment with NMV increases both respiratory and peripheral muscle endurance in patients with CRF due to thoracic restriction.
Histological and immunohistological investigation of the lymphoid tissue in normal and mycobacteria‐affected specimens of the Rufous Hare‐wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus)

The histology of the spleen, lymph nodes, Gut‐associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) and Bronchus‐associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) are described for samples collected opportunistically from healthy and mycobacteria‐affected specimens of the endangered marsupial Lagorchestes hirsutus, the Rufous Hare‐wallaby. The structural elements, organization and distribution of T and B lymphocytes determined by immunohistological techniques using species cross‐reactive antibodies in the lymph nodes, spleen and GALT of this species demonstrated lymphoid cell distributions that were consistent with other marsupial and eutherian mammals. The tissues of animals identified as acid‐fast positive displayed immunopathology consistent with the responses to intracellular bacteria displayed in some eutherian mammals and included the presence of focal lesions, giant cells in the lung and lymphoid aggregations situated adjacent to blood and airway vessels. This is the first study to describe the lymphoid tissue of this rare macropod species and the first to document the tissue bed response to mycobacteria.