Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
UMAM-Q: An instrument to assess the intention to use software development methodologies

The Software Engineering discipline has devoted much effort to the definition of new methods and paradigms that, even if empirically proven to provide certain gains in terms of process productivity and product quality, are difficult to transfer to industry. We claim that this fact is largely due to methodologists not taking into account the - largely subjective - set of variables that influence innovation adoption, together with its tailoring and operationalization to the particulars of software methodologies: we lack reliable and valid measurement instruments that allow for the early detection of methodologies weaknesses with respect to their ability to catch among practitioners. This paper reports on the development of one such instrument designed to measure the various perceptions that an individual may have with respect to adopting a software development methodology innovation. Our questionnaire is aimed at allowing methodologists not only to compare their methodologies with respect to others - in terms of variables such as ease of use, usefulness or compatibility - but also to avoid well-known mistakes such as forcing - as opposed to convincing - method adoption in organizations.
Effective Software Bug Localization Using Spectral Frequency Weighting Function

This paper presents an approach of bug localization using a frequency weighting function. In an existing approach, only binary information of execution count from test executions is used. Information of each program statement being executed and not executed by a particular test is used; indicated by 1 and 0 respectively. In our proposed approach, frequency execution count of each program statement executed by a respective test is used. We evaluate several well-known spectra metrics using our proposed approach and the existing approach (using binary information of execution count) on two test suites; Siemens Test Suite and Unix datasets. We show that the bug localization performance is improved by using our proposed approach. We conduct statistical test and show that the improved bug localization performance using our approach (using frequency execution count) is statistically significant than using the existing approach (using binary information of execution count).
Role of corticosteroids in female reproduction

Corticosteroids, ACTH, and stress can exert inhibitory and facilitory effects on reproduction. The purpose of this review is to reconcile the divergent effects of corticosteroids on gonadotropin secretion based on recent work in the area. Whether stimulation or inhibition of gonadotropin secretion is observed appears to depend on two important variables: 1) length of exposure, and 2) background of estrogen priming. The acute administration of ACTH and certain corticosteroids to estrogen‐primed animals brings about the release of LH and FSH. Corticosteroids have also been shown by some investigators to cause selective release of follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) both in vitro and in vivo. This selective facilitation of FSH release by corticosteroids may explain many deleterious effects on reproduction observed after adrenalectomy, and it may have relevance in explaining the beneficial effects of corticosteroids in inducing ovulation in anovulatory patients suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome. Finally, evidence is presented which suggests that adrenal steroids may participate in initiation and synchronization of the preovulatory LH and FSH surge, as well as the secondary FSH surge seen on estrus in the rat. —Brann, D. W. ; Mahesh, V. B. Role of corticosteroids in female reproduction. FASEB J. 5: 2691‐2698; 1991.
A Cache Model for Modern Processors

Modern processors use high-performance cache replacement policies that outperform traditional alternatives like least-recently used (LRU). Unfortunately, current cache models use stack distances to predict LRU or its variants, and do not capture these high-performance policies. Accurate predictions of cache performance enable many optimizations in multicore systems. For example, cache partitioning uses these predictions to divide capacity among applications in order to maximize performance, guarantee quality of service , or achieve other system objectives. Without an accurate model for high-performance replacement policies, these optimizations are unavailable to modern processors. We present a new probabilistic cache model designed for high-performance replacement policies. This model uses absolute reuse distances instead of stack distances, which makes it applicable to arbitrary age-based replacement policies. We thoroughly validate our model on several high-performance policies on synthetic and real benchmarks, where its median error is less than 1%. Finally, we present two case studies showing how to use the model to improve shared and single-stream cache performance.
Coherence resonance in chains of noisy excitable neurons coupled by interactions with delay

Influence of the interaction time-delay on the noise induced system size resonance in a system of all-to-all electrically coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo excitable neurons is studied. It is observed that small time-lags decrease and that large time-lags increase the coherence of spiking. Bifurcations of the system's stationary state are used to explain the observed non-monotonic dependence of coherence on the time-lag.
Saccades during Object Viewing Modulate Oscillatory Phase in the Superior Temporal Sulcus

Saccadic eye movements (SEMs) are the primary means of gating visual information in primates and strongly influence visual perception. The active exploration of the visual environment (“active vision”) via SEMs produces suppression during saccades and enhancement afterward (i.e., during fixation) in occipital visual areas. In lateral temporal lobe visual areas, the influence, if any, of eye movements is less well understood, despite the necessity of these areas for forming coherent percepts of objects. The upper bank of the superior temporal sulcus (uSTS) is one such area whose sensitivity to SEMs is unknown. We therefore examined how saccades modulate local field potentials (LFPs) in the uSTS of macaque monkeys while they viewed face and nonface object stimuli. LFP phase concentration increased following fixation onset in the alpha (8–14 Hz), beta (14–30 Hz), and gamma (30–60 Hz) bands and was distinct from the image-evoked response. Furthermore, near-coincident onsets of fixation and image presentation—like those occurring in active vision—led to enhanced responses through greater phase concentration in the same frequency bands. Finally, single-unit activity was modulated by the phase of alpha, beta, and gamma oscillations, suggesting that the observed phase-locking influences spike timing in uSTS. Previous research implicates phase concentration in these frequency bands as a correlate of perceptual performance (Womelsdorf et al., 2006; Bosman et al., 2009). Together, these results demonstrate sensitivity to eye movements in an object-processing region of the brain and represent a plausible neural basis for the enhancement of object processing during active vision.
Motherhood in migration: schools as acculturation agents

ABSTRACT Motherhood roles lie at the intersection of gender, professional, family, and social identities and are highly contextualized in culture, making them particularly relevant for acculturation success. We provide an empirical example of how schools act as acculturation agents, using the experiences of career-oriented migrant mothers whose children attend elite private schools in Santiago, Chile. This study contributes to consumer acculturation research and to research on matricentric feminism, which positions mothers’ concerns as the starting point for theories, politics, and practices of empowerment. We employ Turner's notion of root paradigms to discuss how schools maneuver their unique institutional agentic power, acculturating career-oriented migrant mothers and their families into a cultural framework of female domesticity and intensive mothering.
Recycling of Sustainable Co-Firing Fly Ashes as an Alkali Activator for GGBS in Blended Cements

This study investigates the feasibility of co-firing fly ashes from different boilers, circulating fluidized beds (CFB) or stokers as a sustainable material in alkali activators for ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS). The mixture ratio of GGBS and co-firing fly ashes is 1:1 by weight. The results indicate that only CF fly ash of CFB boilers can effectively stimulate the potential characteristics of GGBS and provide strength as an alkali activator. CF fly ash consists of CaO3 (48.5%), SiO2 (21.1%), Al2O3 (13.8%), SO3 (10.06%), Fe2O3 (2.25%) and others (4.29%). SA fly ash consists of Al2O3 (19.7%), SiO2 (36.3%), Fe2O3 (28.4%) and others (15.6%). SB fly ash consists of Al2O3 (15%), SiO2 (25.4%), Zn (20.6%), SO3 (10.9%), Fe2O3 (8.78%) and others (19.32%). The mixtures of SA fly ash and SB fly ash with GGBS, respectively, were damaged in the compressive strength test during seven days of curing. However, the built up strength of the CF fly ash and GGBS mixture can only be maintained for 7–14 days, and the compressive strength achieves 70% of that of a controlled group (cement in hardening cement paste). The strength of blended CF fly ash and GGBS started to decrease after 28 days, and the phenomenon of ettrigite was investigated due to the high levels of sulfur content. The CaO content in sustainable co-firing fly ashes must be higher than a certain percentage in reacting GGBS to ensure the strength of blended cements.
JAM3 methylation status as a biomarker for diagnosis of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of the cervix

DNA methylation is clinically relevant to important tumorigenic mechanisms. This study evaluated the methylation status of candidate genes in cervical neoplasia and determined their diagnostic performance in clinical practice. Cervical cancer and normal cervix tissue was used to select the top 5 discriminating loci among 27 loci in 4 genes (CCNA1, CADM1, DAPK1, JAM3), and one locus of JAM3 (region M4) was identified and confirmed with 267 and 224 cervical scrapings from 2 independent colposcopy referral studies. For patients with atypical squamous cells of unknown significance and those with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, with JAM3-M4 compared to a triage marker of hrHPV testing, the specificity for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 3 CIN3 and cancer cases (CIN3+) / no neoplasia and CIN1 (CIN1−) was significantly increased, from 21.88 to 81.82 and 15.38 to 85.18, respectively. The corresponding positive predictive value (PPV) was increased from 26.47 to 57.14 and 18.52 to 63.64, respectively. For hrHPV-positive patients, compared to a triage marker of cytology testing, JAM3-M4 showed increased specificity and PPV, from 30.67 to 87.65 and 38.82 to 82.14, respectively. We assessed whether JAM3-M4 could distinguish productive from transforming CIN2; the coincidence rate of JAM3-M4 and P16 was as high as 60.5%.
A pathway of neuregulin-induced activation of cofilin-phosphatase Slingshot and cofilin in lamellipodia

Cofilin mediates lamellipodium extension and polarized cell migration by stimulating actin filament dynamics at the leading edge of migrating cells. Cofilin is inactivated by phosphorylation at Ser-3 and reactivated by cofilin-phosphatase Slingshot-1L (SSH1L). Little is known of signaling mechanisms of cofilin activation and how this activation is spatially regulated. Here, we show that cofilin-phosphatase activity of SSH1L increases ∼10-fold by association with actin filaments, which indicates that actin assembly at the leading edge per se triggers local activation of SSH1L and thereby stimulates cofilin-mediated actin turnover in lamellipodia. We also provide evidence that 14-3-3 proteins inhibit SSH1L activity, dependent on the phosphorylation of Ser-937 and Ser-978 of SSH1L. Stimulation of cells with neuregulin-1β induced Ser-978 dephosphorylation, translocation of SSH1L onto F-actin–rich lamellipodia, and cofilin dephosphorylation. These findings suggest that SSH1L is locally activated by translocation to and association with F-actin in lamellipodia in response to neuregulin-1β and 14-3-3 proteins negatively regulate SSH1L activity by sequestering it in the cytoplasm.
Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience Integrative Neuroscience Materials and Methods Animal Preparation and Surgery

at cellular resolution within local cortical circuits. In vitro calcium imaging in rodent visual cortex has revealed sparse patterns of spontaneous activity (Mao et al., 2001) that are spatially (Cossart et al., 2003) and temporally (Ikegaya et al., 2004) repeatable, but these patterns of activity have never been studied in relation to sensory physiology. We therefore examined patterns of spontaneous calcium activity in the visual cortex of two species: the cat, which has an organized map of orientation preference We wished to examine at the cellular level how correlated spontaneous activity was affected by two variables: (1) the distance between neurons and (2) the similarity of their visually evoked response properties, specifically their preferred orientations. Since neurons with different preferred orientations are spatially mixed in the rodent, the dependence of correlations on these two variables – distance and relative orientation preference – is not confounded , as it is in the cat. Thus, the rodent visual cortex provides an excellent model system for studying the relationship between spontaneous and sensory-evoked activity. Long Evans rats (postnatal days 27–30, seven animals) and cats (postnatal days 30–40, six animals) were anesthetized with iso-flurane (1–2% in surgery, 0.5–1% during imaging) and prepared for two-photon scanning laser microscopy as previously described (Ohki et al., 2005). Briefly, a small craniotomy was performed over either primary visual cortex (rats) as previously described (Ohki et al., 2005) or visual cortex area 18 (cats), as defined by Horsley– Clarke coordinates, A2-6 and L1-3. The dura was reflected and the underlying cortex covered with agarose (3% in artificial cerebrospi-nal fluid, ACSF). During imaging, animals were maintained under
Exploring the Cognitive Processes Causing the Age-Related Categorization Deficit in the Recognition of Facial Expressions

Background/Study Context: Elderly people do not categorize emotional facial expressions as accurately as younger people, particularly negative emotions. Although age-related impairments in decoding emotions in facial expressions are well documented, the causes of this deficit are poorly understood. This study examined the potential mechanisms that account for this age-related categorization deficit by assessing its dependence on presentation time. Methods: Thirty young (19–27 years old) and 31 older (68–78 years old) Chinese adults were asked to categorize the six basic emotions in facial expressions, each presented for 120, 200, 600, or 1000 ms, before and after exposure to a neutral facial expression. Results: Shortened presentation times caused an age-related deficit in the recognition of happy faces, whereas no deficit was observed at longer exposure times. An age-related deficit was observed for all negative emotions but was not exacerbated by shorter presentation times. Conclusion: Age-related deficits in categorization of positive and negative emotions are caused by different mechanisms. Because negative emotions are perceptually similar, they cause high categorization demands. Elderly people may need more evidence in favor of the target emotion than younger people, and they make mistakes if this surplus of evidence is missing. In contrast, perceptually distinct happy faces were easily identified, and elderly people only failed when the presentation time was too short for their slower perceptual processing.
The relationship between substructure in 2D X-ray surface brightness images and weak-lensing mass maps of galaxy clusters: a simulation study

Recent X-ray and weak-lensing observations of galaxy clusters have revealed that the hot gas does not always directly trace the dark matter within these systems. Such configurations are extremely interesting. They offer a new vista on to the complex interplay between gravity and baryonic physics, and may even be used as indicators of the clusters' dynamical state. In this paper, we undertake a study to determine what insight can be reliably gleaned from the comparison of the X-ray and the weak-lensing mass maps of galaxy clusters. We do this by investigating the two-dimensional (2D) substructure within three high-resolution cosmological simulations of galaxy clusters. Our main results focus on non-radiative gas dynamics, but we also consider the effects of radiative cooling at high redshift. For our analysis, we use a novel approach, based on unsharp-masking, to identify substructures in 2D surface mass density and X-ray surface brightness maps. At full resolution (∼15 h -1 kpc), this technique is capable of identifying almost all self-bound dark matter subhaloes with M > 10 12 h -1 M ⊙ . We also report a correlation between the mass of a subhalo and the area of its corresponding 2D detection; such a correlation, once calibrated, could provide a useful estimator for substructure mass. Comparing our 2D mass and X-ray substructures, we find a surprising number of cases where the matching fails: around one-third of galaxy-sized substructures have no X-ray counterpart. Some interesting cases are also found at larger masses, in particular the cores of merging clusters where the situation can be complex. Finally, we degrade our mass maps to what is currently achievable with weak-lensing observations (∼100h -1 kpc at z = 0.2). While the completeness mass limit increases by around an order of magnitude, a mass-area correlation remains. Our paper clearly demonstrates that the next generation of lensing surveys should start to reveal a wealth of information on cluster substructure.
Normalization on the politicians’ messages level, equalization on the citizens’ discussions level: the 2015 Israeli elections campaign on Facebook

ABSTRACT The question whether online social networks allow political challengers equal access to incumbents (equalization) or perpetuate the gaps between candidates (normalization) during an election campaign is central to political science studies. While so far, studies have relied on top-down analyses of citizens’ engagement with politicians’ messages to address the issue, we complemented this method with a bottom-up approach via analysis of independent citizen discussions of the different contenders on Facebook during the 2015 Israeli elections campaign. This approach is particularly relevant to social networks, where citizens are not only consumers but also producers of political information. Our study revealed that, whereas PM Netanyahu's posts attracted the most engagement, indicating normalization, on the citizen discussions realm contenders Herzog and Livni attracted more mentions, as well as Shares, Likes and participants than did PM Netanyahu. In addition, contender Bennett's posts managed to generate more Likes than PM Netanyahu, indicating equalization on the bottom-up level. These optimistic results highlight citizens’ discussion realms as a platform characterized by a more desired democratic discourse than that which can be found on politicians’ pages and emphasize the importance of including this realm in future analyses of equalization versus normalization.
Do attitudes towards statistics influence the decision to study psychology at degree level? A pilot investigation

Statistics anxiety has often been linked to performance in statistics modules for psychology students, despite this no research to date has examined whether attitudes towards statistics can predict whether or not a student chooses to carry on psychology from pre-tertiary to higher education. In this pilot study 41 second year A-level psychology students completed an online measure of statistics anxiety (Statistics Anxiety Rating Scale, STARS) and answered questions about their current A-levels and whether or not they were applying to study psychology at university. The findings showed that worth of statistics, but no other STARS measures significantly predicted whether or not an individual was planning on studying psychology at university. Findings are discussed primarily in relation to teacher variables that may impact subject choice and statistics anxiety in A-level students.
The intrabronchial microbial flora in chronic bronchitis patients: a target for N-acetylcysteine therapy?

Chronic bronchitis is common among smokers, often together with recurrent infectious exacerbations. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae are the pathogens traditionally considered most important. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) treatment has been shown to reduce the number of infectious exacerbations in patients with chronic bronchitis. The mechanism behind this is unknown. We attempted to characterize the intrabronchial bacterial flora in patients with chronic bronchitis in an infection-free interval, and to determine whether pharmacological and immunological factors effected the bacterial occurrence. Twenty two smokers with non-obstructive chronic bronchitis, 19 smokers with chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 14 healthy nonsmokers underwent bronchoscopy. To obtain uncontaminated intrabronchial samples, a protected specimen brush was used. Quantitative bacterial cultures and virus isolations were performed. Significantly positive bacterial cultures (> 1,000 colony-forming units (cfu). ml-1) were found only in the patients. S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae were found in five patients, and only in the patients without NAC treatment. The most common bacterium was alpha-haemolytic streptococcus. Negative cultures were more common in the healthy controls. Of the various factors examined, only NAC medication had an influence on bacterial numbers. Significantly fewer patients with NAC medication had positive cultures (3 out of 16) than in the group of patients without NAC therapy (15 out of 21). Our results confirm that chronic bronchitis in smokers leads to increased intrabronchial bacterial colonization. We could also confirm that 1,000 cfu.ml-1 is an adequate cut-off level for significant bacterial growth when using the protected specimen brush. NAC medication was associated with low bacterial numbers.
Learning Text Similarity with Siamese Recurrent Networks

This paper presents a deep architecture for learning a similarity metric on variable-length character sequences. The model combines a stack of character-level bidirectional LSTM’s with a Siamese architecture. It learns to project variable-length strings into a ﬁxed-dimensional embedding space by using only information about the similarity between pairs of strings. This model is applied to the task of job title normalization based on a manually annotated taxonomy. A small data set is incrementally expanded and augmented with new sources of variance. The model learns a representation that is selective to differences in the input that reﬂect semantic differences (e.g., “Java developer” vs. “HR manager”) but also invariant to non-semantic string differences (e.g., “Java de-veloper” vs. “Java programmer”).