Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Skew-Elliptical Distributions and Their Applications: A Journey Beyond Normality

Overall, at this price, I wish I could have left out conclusions 4 and 5. In addition, some fully worked out (with software) real examples are needed. As I found out long ago, being able to prove theorems does not mean that one can apply them. The novice (e.g., someone like me) needs training in both. However, one good thing is that there are many references with authors that both chemists and statisticians will recognize. Hopefully, that helps. If you are faced with this type of data, perhaps this book is a reasonable place to start. I know of no others.
Deep Resequencing Unveils Genetic Architecture of ADIPOQ and Identifies a Novel Low-Frequency Variant Strongly Associated With Adiponectin Variation

Increased adiponectin levels have been shown to be associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. To understand the relations between genetic variation at the adiponectin-encoding gene, ADIPOQ, and adiponectin levels, and subsequently its role in disease, we conducted a deep resequencing experiment of ADIPOQ in 14,002 subjects, including 12,514 Europeans, 594 African Americans, and 567 Indian Asians. We identified 296 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including 30 amino acid changes, and carried out association analyses in a subset of 3,665 subjects from two independent studies. We confirmed multiple genome-wide association study findings and identified a novel association between a low-frequency SNP (rs17366653) and adiponectin levels (P = 2.2E–17). We show that seven SNPs exert independent effects on adiponectin levels. Together, they explained 6% of adiponectin variation in our samples. We subsequently assessed association between these SNPs and type 2 diabetes in the Genetics of Diabetes Audit and Research in Tayside Scotland (GO-DARTS) study, comprised of 5,145 case and 6,374 control subjects. No evidence of association with type 2 diabetes was found, but we were also unable to exclude the possibility of substantial effects (e.g., odds ratio 95% CI for rs7366653 [0.91–1.58]). Further investigation by large-scale and well-powered Mendelian randomization studies is warranted.
Biogenesis of plasma membranes in salt glands of salt-stressed domestic ducklings: localization of acyltransferase activity.

In response to salt water stress there is a marked increase in the plasma membranes of the epithelial secretory cells of the salt glands of domestic ducklings. In the present study, the fine-structural localization of the acyltransferases involved in synthesis of phospholipids has been investigated in this tissue during this increased biogenesis of plasma membranes. The specific activity of the acyltransferases of the salt gland rose in response to salt stress, and this preceded the rapid increase in weight and cellular differentiation. After the weight increase of the gland became established, the specific activity of the acyltransferases declined, but the total activity remained constant. Salt gland tissue fixed in a mixture of glutaraldehyde and formaldehyde retained 35% of the acyltransferase activity of unfixed tissue. Cytochemical studies of the localization of acyltransferase activity in fixed and unfixed salt gland showed reaction product associated only with the lamellar membranes of the Golgi complex. This localization occurred in partially differentiated cells from salt-stressed glands to the greatest extent; and to only a small extent in cells of control tissue from unstressed salt glands. Omission of substrates resulted in absence of reaction product in association with the Golgi membranes. In addition, vesicles having limiting membranes morphologically similar to the plasma membrane occurred between the Golgi region and the plasma membrane in the partially differentiated cells. The phospholipid component of the plasma membrane appears therefore to be synthesized in association with the Golgi membranes and the membrane packaged at this site from which it moves in the form of vesicles to fuse with the pre-existing plasma membrane.
A novel MIR framework and application with automatic voice processing, database construction and fuzzy matching

In this paper, we present a music information retrieval system which enables users to retrieve music by vocal query. Three essential components are query processing, database construction by MIDI and an approximate search engine. For query processing, we have achieved a real-time and robust voice-to- melody converter. For database construction, proposed MIDI analysis methods to obtain music melody features from MIDI files automatically. In order to match query with melodies in database, we extend an existing search engine into a fast approximate melodic matching engine. We have carried out extensive experiments on the prototype system to evaluate the performance. The results show that the proposed three components are achieving good performance.
A depleted mind feels inefficacious: Ego-depletion reduces self-efficacy to exert further self-control

Recent research has found that ego-depletion undermines self-control by motivating cognition that justifies conservation of mental resource. One potential cognitive mechanism is reduction of self-efficacy. Specifically, we propose that ego-depletion might demotivate self-control by making people believe that they are inefficacious in exerting self-control in subsequent tasks. Three experiments support the proposal. First, we demonstrated that (a) ego-depletion can reduce self-efficacy to exert further control (Experiments 1 to 3) and (b) the temporary reduction of self-efficacy mediates the effect of depletion on self-control performance (Experiment 2). Finally, we found that (c) these effects are only observed among participants who endorse a limited (versus non-limited) theory of willpower and are, hence, more motivated to conserve mental resources (Experiment 3). Taken together, the present findings show that decrease in self-efficacy to exert further self-control is an important cognitive process that explains how ego-depletion demotivates self-control. This research also contributes to the recent discussion of the psychological processes underlying ego-depletion.
Time Course of Degradation of Cardiac Troponin I in Patients With Acute ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: The ASSENT-2 Troponin Substudy

Although measurement of troponin is widely used for diagnosing acute myocardial infarction (AMI), its diagnostic potential may be increased by a more complete characterization of its molecular appearance and degradation in the blood. The aim of this study was to define the time course of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) degradation in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). In the ASSENT-2 substudy, 26 males hospitalized with STEMI were randomized to 2 different thrombolytic drugs within 6 hours after onset of symptoms. Blood samples were obtained just before initiation of thrombolysis and at 30 minutes intervals (7 samples per patient). Western blot analysis was performed using anti-cTnI antibodies and compared with serum concentrations of cTnI. All patients exceeded the cTnI cutoff for AMI during the sampling period; at initiation of therapy, 23 had elevated cTnI values. All patients demonstrated 2 bands on immunoblot: intact cTnI and a single degradation product as early as 90 minutes after onset of symptoms. On subsequent samples, 15 of 26 patients showed multiple degradation products with up to 7 degradation bands. The appearance of fragments was correlated with higher levels of cTnI (P<0.001) and time to initiation of treatment (P=0.058). This study defines for the first time the initial time course of cTnI degradation in STEMI. Intact cTnI and a single degradation product were detectable on immunoblot as early as 90 minutes after onset of symptoms with further degradation after 165 minutes. Infarct size and time to initiation of treatment was the major determinant for degradation.
Developing professionalism through reflective practice and ongoing professional development

ABSTRACT This article contributes to the debate on early years professionalism. It explores the impact of a continuous professional development (CPD) programme, in particular a module on professional practice, on early childhood care and education (ECCE) practitioners’ identity as early years professionals. Action research informed the development of the programme and ensured that everyone had a ‘voice’. Support in developing the participants’ pedagogical knowledge in the learning and teaching domains was also provided. Analysis of the data collected revealed, how through reflective practice and action planning, ECCE practitioners’ perception of themselves changed. Through actively evaluating their own practice and measuring it against the theory and official discourse of early years quality and curriculum frameworks, the participants gained new knowledge about themselves and their teaching. They also acquired the professional language required to discuss children's learning and their practice with others.
Physical simulation for probabilistic motion tracking

Human motion tracking is an important problem in computer vision. Most prior approaches have concentrated on efficient inference algorithms and prior motion models; however, few can explicitly account for physical plausibility of recovered motion. The primary purpose of this work is to enforce physical plausibility in the tracking of a single articulated human subject. Towards this end, we propose a full-body 3D physical simulation-based prior that explicitly incorporates motion control and dynamics into the Bayesian filtering framework. We consider the humanpsilas motion to be generated by a ldquocontrol looprdquo. In this control loop, Newtonian physics approximates the rigid-body motion dynamics of the human and the environment through the application and integration of forces. Collisions generate interaction forces to prevent physically impossible hypotheses. This allows us to properly model human motion dynamics, ground contact and environment interactions. For efficient inference in the resulting high-dimensional state space, we introduce exemplar-based control strategy to reduce the effective search space. As a result we are able to recover the physically-plausible kinematic and dynamic state of the body from monocular and multi-view imagery. We show, both quantitatively and qualitatively, that our approach performs favorably with respect to standard Bayesian filtering methods.
Cheese liking and consumer willingness to pay as affected by information about organic production

The present study aimed to assess the effect of information about organic production on Pecorino cheese liking and consumer willingness to pay. Mean scores of perceived liking were similar for organic cheese (OC) and conventional cheese (CC). Expected liking scores were higher for OC than for CC (P<0·001). For OC the expected liking was significantly higher (P<0·001) than the perceived liking expressed in blind conditions (negative disconfirmation), whereas for CC the expected liking was significantly lower (P<0·001) than the perceived liking expressed in blind conditions (positive disconfirmation). Consumers assimilated their liking for OC in the direction of expectations, as the difference actual vs. perceived liking was significant (P<0·001). However the assimilation was not complete, as also the difference actual liking vs. expected liking was significant (P<0·001). Consumers showed a willingness to pay OC (mean±se=4·20±0·13 €/100 g) higher than the local retail price for conventional (1·90 €/100 g) and even organic cheese (3·00 €/100 g). We conclude that the information about organic farming can be a major determinant of cheese liking and consumer willingness to pay, thus providing a potential tool for product differentiation, particularly for small scale and traditional farms.
L'activité du point de vue de l'acteur et la question de l'intersubjectivité : Huit années d'expériences avec des caméras miniaturisées fixées au front des acteurs (subcams)

La «subcam», camera miniature fixee a hauteur des yeux, enregistre l’activite en vue subjective. Portee par des volontaires, elle permet d’analyser en detail sur le terrain des phenomenes comme la captation de l’attention, le lien entre determinants internes et externes du comportement, l’intersubjectivite. On presente ici avec des illustrations empiriques les aspects techniques, methodologiques, ethiques et theoriques, notamment les strategies d’analyse, et la question de l’intersubjectivite et du «pacte psychosocial».
Regulation of intracellular free calcium in normal murine keratinocytes.

Cultured normal murine keratinocytes maintain a basal cell phenotype in medium with a Ca2+ concentration of 0.05 mM and differentiate when exposed for 28-48 h to medium supplemented with extracellular Ca2+ greater than 0.10 mM. Previous studies have documented Ca2+ activation of signaling pathways in the plasma membrane and tightly regulated cellular responses to small incremental changes in extracellular Ca2+. To determine if changes in free cytosolic calcium (Cai) are associated with these early signaling events, digital image analysis of fura-2-loaded keratinocytes was used to measure Cai in individual cells. Basal keratinocytes in 0.05 mM Ca2+ display a biphasic Cai increase when exposed to greater than 0.1 mM Ca2+ in serum-containing medium. These separate phases were controlled by different media components. Initial peak Cai occurred rapidly (within 60 s), was transient (lasting less than 5 min), and resulted from release of 10-20% of total intracellular Ca2+ stores. Peak Cai depended on serum concentration and was independent of extracellular Ca2+. This transient Cai response was lost as keratinocytes differentiated. Plateau Cai level was sustained (greater than 24 h) and depended on extracellular Ca2+, but not serum. The magnitude of plateau Cai increased incrementally following increases in extracellular Ca2+ as small as 0.02 mM. A similar biphasic Cai increase was noted in cultures of murine dermal fibroblasts stimulated by 1.2 mM Ca2+ and serum. However, fibroblasts did not lose the serum response in high-Ca2+ medium, and plateau Cai was not sensitive to small changes in extracellular Ca2+. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Robust switching adaptive control of multi-input nonlinear systems

We develop a general procedure for designing robust adaptive controllers for a large class of multi-input nonlinear systems. This class of nonlinear systems includes, as a special case, multi-input feedback-linearizable systems, parametric-pure-feedback systems and systems that admit a linear-in-the-parameters control Lyapunov functions (CLF). The proposed approach uses tools from the theory of robust CLF and the switching adaptive controllers proposed by the authors for overcoming the problem of computing the feedback control law when the estimation model becomes uncontrollable. The control approach proposed has also been shown to be robust with respect to exogeneous bounded input disturbances.
Learning Object Repositories in e-Learning: Challenges for Learners in Saudi Arabia

The advent of the millennium has seen the introduction of a new paradigm for ICT-enhanced education. Advances in ICT have led to the emergence of learning networks comprising people who want to discover and share various innovative technologies on a global scale. Over the past decade, there has been tremendous worldwide interest in the concept of reusable digital learning resources, usually referred to as ‘learning objects’ (LOs), and the organised content delivery mechanism for pieces of educational content, described as ‘learning object repositories’ (LORs). These elements of e-learning are said to offer many benefits to learners. LOR platforms are rich in digital content resources, and are reusable, accessible and adaptable at any time. Although the use of LORs in e-learning can have a positive effect on learners on a universal scale, issues have emerged at the more microscopic level. This study investigates the specific challenges of LOR use faced by learners in Saudi Arabia. It is hoped that the detailed expository discussion herein will help to eradicate or at least minimise LOR obstacles and eventually support the development of advanced e-learning practices amongst learners in Saudi Arabia.
Combining qualitative and quantitative methods in research practice: purposes and advantages

Despite ongoing ‘paradigm wars’ between the methodological traditions of qualitative and quantitative research, ‘mixed methods’ represents nowadays a rapidly developing field of social science methodology. In such discussions it is often emphasized that the use of methods should be predominantly influenced by substantive research questions, and not only by methodological and epistemological considerations. As all methods have specific limitations as well as particular strengths, many discussants propose that qualitative and quantitative methods should be combined in order to compensate for their mutual and overlapping weaknesses. However, although a variety of proposals have been made for a taxonomy of mixed-methods designs, there is yet a lack of agreement regarding basic concepts and definitions, as is bemoaned by many experts in this field. This lack of common ground is due to the fact that crucial questions regarding the relations between research domains and methods have been not sufficiently discussed yet. For which types of research questions qualitative and quantitative methods are suited better? What are typical weaknesses and strengths of qualitative and quantitative methods in relation to particular research domains? The paper addresses these questions by discussing several examples from research projects that have combined qualitative and quantitative methods. Thereby it will be shown that the purposes of method integration are twofold: it can serve for the mutual validation of data and findings as well as for the production of a more coherent and complete picture of the investigated domain than monomethod research can yield.
Spearcons (Speech-Based Earcons) Improve Navigation Performance in Advanced Auditory Menus

Objective: The goal of this project is to evaluate a new auditory cue, which the authors call spearcons, in comparison to other auditory cues with the aim of improving auditory menu navigation. Background: With the shrinking displays of mobile devices and increasing technology use by visually impaired users, it becomes important to improve usability of non-graphical user interface (GUI) interfaces such as auditory menus. Using nonspeech sounds called auditory icons (i.e., representative real sounds of objects or events) or earcons (i.e., brief musical melody patterns) has been proposed to enhance menu navigation. To compensate for the weaknesses of traditional nonspeech auditory cues, the authors developed spearcons by speeding up a spoken phrase, even to the point where it is no longer recognized as speech. Method: The authors conducted five empirical experiments. In Experiments 1 and 2, they measured menu navigation efficiency and accuracy among cues. In Experiments 3 and 4, they evaluated learning rate of cues and speech itself. In Experiment 5, they assessed spearcon enhancements compared to plain TTS (text to speech: speak out written menu items) in a two-dimensional auditory menu. Results: Spearcons outperformed traditional and newer hybrid auditory cues in navigation efficiency, accuracy, and learning rate. Moreover, spearcons showed comparable learnability as normal speech and led to better performance than speech-only auditory cues in two-dimensional menu navigation. Conclusion: These results show that spearcons can be more effective than previous auditory cues in menu-based interfaces. Application: Spearcons have broadened the taxonomy of nonspeech auditory cues. Users can benefit from the application of spearcons in real devices.
The Rise and Decline of Economic Structuralism in Latin America: New Dimensions

The following three articles, together with this brief introduction, review the consequences of the paradigm shift in Latin American economic historiography from structuralism to the New Institutional Economics (NIE). Joseph Love analyzes the basic tenets of structuralism, their connection to dependency, the influence of CEPAL on policymaking, and how a generation of historians utilized the methodologies of structuralism to research historical problems in Latin American development. John H. Coatsworth's contribution correlates the decline of the structuralist model to the rise of research interests in the role of institutions in economic history and examines the latest long-range comparisons of productivity between the Latin American and U.S. economies. Commenting on the recent research utilizing the NIE, Coatsworth agrees with Love that the relative economic stagnation of the past quarter century may not render structuralism entirely irrelevant. Sandra Kuntz Ficker summarizes the basic positions held by the structuralist and dependentista schools with respect to commercial policy and concludes with a discussion of how the NIE contributes to innovative research on Latin American foreign trade. These articles resulted from the authors' participation in a LARR-sponsored panel at the 2004 Latin American Studies Association Congress. Los siguientes tres artículos, junto a esta breve introducción, repasan las consecuencias que el cambio de paradigma del estructuralismo a la Nueva Economía Institucional (NEI) han producido en la historiografía económica de América Latina. Joseph Love analiza los principios básicos del estructuralismo, su conexión con la teoría de la dependencia, la influencia de la CEPAL en la toma de decisiones políticas y cómo una generación de historiadores utilizó las metodologías del estructuralismo para indagar los problemas históricos del desarrollo latinoamericano. En su contribución, John H. Coatsworth relaciona el declive del modelo estructuralista con el aumento del interés académico por el rol que las instituciones tuvieron en el desarrollo de la historia económica, y examina las más recientes comparaciones de la productividad de largo plazo de las economías latino y norteamericanas. Coatsworth coincide con Love en su visión sobre los más recientes análisis que emplean la perspectiva de la NEI, en cuanto a que el relativo estancamiento de la economía durante el último cuarto de siglo no deja al estructuralismo en una posición irrelevante. Sandra Kuntz Ficker resume las posturas de las escuelas estructuralista y dependentista con respecto a las políticas comerciales, y concluye con una discusión acerca de la innovación que la NEI ha generado en la investigación sobre el comercio internacional latinoamericano. Estos artículos se originaron en la participación de estos autores en el foro organizado por LARR en el XXV Congreso Internacional de LASA de 2004.