Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Book Reviews: Construing Experience through Meaning: A Language-based Approach to Cognition

Michael Alexander Kirkwood Halliday has been actively analyzing and documenting the interactions between syntax and semantics for over forty years, and his systemicfunctional theory has been a foundation for important work in computational linguistics for at least thirty years. The first major application of systemic theory was the SHRDLU system by Winograd (1972). The largest ongoing series of applications has been developed at the USC Information Sciences Institute: language generation (Mann 1982; Hovy 1988); discourse analysis and rhetorical structure (Mann and Thompson 1992); and the interface between the lexicon and world knowledge (Bateman et al. 1990; Matthiessen 1995). In this book, Halliday and Matthiessen present a comprehensive survey of semantics and its relationships to syntax and cognition. Although they present their subject from a systemic-functional point of view, they show how their approach is related to a wide range of work in both computational and theoretical linguistics. One notable omission from their 23-page bibliography is Noam Chomsky, whose period of active research almost exactly coincides with Halliday's. They do, however, give a fair summary of semantic theories based on Chomsky's approach, ranging from the early work of Katz and Fodor to the more recent work by Jackendoff. The book consists of 15 chapters organized in five parts. In Part I, the authors contrast the systemic approach with a view of knowledge representation as a "piecemeal accumulation" of concepts with "no overall organization. " Instead of treating language "as a kind of code in which pre-existing conceptual structures are more or less distortedly expressed," they view language as a semiotic system that serves "as the foundation of human experience. " The goal of systemic theory is to present a comprehensive view of how humans construe experience through language. Unlike Chomsky, they do not consider grammar as "autonomous" but as an integral part of the lexicogrammar, which realizes meaning in words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. Part II, comprising Chapters 2 through 7, presents the meaning base, which corresponds to what many authors would call an ontology. The meaning base, however, represents categories of experience with a topmost node called phenomenon instead of categories of existence with a topmost node called entity. The first subdivision of phenomena is a three-way partitioning according to levels of complexity:
One Step Forward , or Two Steps Back ? Diversity Management And Gender In Organizational Analysis

This paper describes a beginning analysis of the diversity management discourse that has emerged over the past fifteen years (approximately). Using an approach based on Foucaldian historical analysis, it begins by asking how it is possible that this discourse emerged; what conditions supported its emergence and what forms has it taken? Origins of the discourse are in the perceived need of consultants for a suitable response to the backlash to legislated change. The body of knowledge was given a scientific basis by using parallel scholarship in such areas as organizational culture and group composition research, and eventually, organizational demographics was invoked as the appropriate ‘scientific’ approach. Doing so accomplished a connection to the psychology of individual differences with its roots in biology and social Darwinism, and subsequently opened the conversation to the inclusion of modern-day evolutionary psychology, a discipline which argues for the essential nature of behavioural differences. It is suggested that, although the Foucaldian concept of power emphasizes its non-valenced productivity, what was perceived originally as a step forward by diversity consultants may be described as (at least) two steps backward in the project of non-discrimination in the workplace. Although the situation in most organizational behaviour/theory textbooks has changed somewhat from that described by Mills and Hatfield (1998) from their survey of texts published between 1959 and 1995, to the point where there is mention of differences between male and female leaders, which is at least one indication that the years of work on women in management and women in the workplace has had some effect, it is the related topic of diversity management that has virtually exploded. Diversity management is generally viewed as a larger concept which includes, at a minimum, all groups which have been traditionally marginalized in organizations, including women, non-whites (i.e. visible minorities), the dis/differently-abled and indigenous peoples, American Indians in the United States and First Nations/Aboriginal peoples in Canada. An interesting aspect of the diversity management discourse is that it appears to have very quickly moved from its origins in the consulting arena into the majority of textbooks in
Elevated serum C-reactive protein level and microalbuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

INTRODUCTION Microalbuminuria is a marker of vascular endothelial damage. In addition, it is reported that high serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) is a novel cardiovascular risk factor that impairs endothelial function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between microalbuminuria and elevated serum level of high-sensitivity CRP (HS-CRP) in type 2 diabetic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS We measured serum levels of HS-CRP in 87 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. They were divided into a microalbuminuric group (n = 45) and those with a 24-hour urine albumin less than 30 mg/d (n = 42). The relationship of serum HS-CRP level with albuminuria and other characteristics of the patients was assessed. RESULTS Patients with microalbuminuria were significantly older and affected by diabetes mellitus longer than those without microalbuminuria. Also, their mean HS-CRP was significantly higher (4.98 +/- 1.45 mg/L versus 2.82 +/- 2.10 mg/L; P < .001). The Pearson correlation test showed a significant correlation between HS-CRP level and urine albumin level (r = 0.43; P < .001). The specificity and sensitivity of HS-CRP for detection of microalbuminuria in were 78.5% and 68.8%, respectively, and the positive and negative predictive values were 77.5% and 70.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS In type 2 diabetic patients, microalbuminuria is accompanied by elevated HS-CRP, suggesting activation of inflammatory pathways in progression of renal and cardiovascular atherosclerotic disease. As an easier and cheaper test for assessment of diabetic nephropathy, we recommend further studies on HS-CRP in diabetic patients.
Friends’ plans for college and adolescents’ educational expectations: an instrumental variable approach

Abstract Friends are an important influence on adolescents’ educational outcomes. However, because of their similarity on numerous attributes, it is difficult to estimate whether friends influence each other, or whether they select friends who are similar to them. To address this endogeneity, this study uses instrumental variable estimation on panel data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 to estimate the effect of friends’ plans for college on adolescents’ educational expectations. Results from two-stage least squares models indicate that friends’ plans for college has a significant effect on educational expectations. This effect does not significantly vary by gender. Results suggest the need for policies that focus on ways to diversify adolescent peer networks in order to provide greater access to resource-rich peers.
The Role of the Thalamus in Schizophrenia

Background: Explaining the diversity of symptoms that occur in schizophrenia is a major conceptual challenge. Perhaps the most powerful strategy is to identify a fundamental cognitive process and/or a fundamental neural circuit. Methods: Convergent data from our research group in Iowa and from investigators in other centres are summarized. Results: The thalamus plays a key role in information processing. A defect in circuitry connecting the thalamus, frontal cortex, and cerebellum could explain a wide range of symptoms. Neuropathology and imaging studies suggest that patients with schizophrenia may have abnormalities in this circuitry. Conclusion: The fundamental deficit in schizophrenia may be conceptualized as a “cognitive dysmetria” characterized by impairments in coordinating the perception, encoding, retrieval, and prioritization of experience and information.
New Lower Bounds on the Multicolor Ramsey Numbers rk(C4)

The multicolor Ramsey number rk(C4) is the smallest integer n for which any k-coloring of the edges of the complete graph Kn must produce a monochromatic 4-cycle. It was proved earlier that rk(C4)? k2? k+2 for k? 1 being a prime power. In this note we establish rk(C4)? k2+2 for k being an odd prime power.
Abstract Newtonian Frameworks and Their Applications

We unify and extend some Newtonian iterative frameworks developed earlier in the literature, which results in a collection of convenient tools for local convergence analysis of various algorithms under various sets of assumptions including strong metric regularity, semistability, or upper-Lipschitz stability, the latter allowing for nonisolated solutions. These abstract schemes are further applied for deriving sharp local convergence results for some constrained optimization algorithms under reduced smoothness hypotheses. Specifically, we consider applications to the augmented Lagrangian method and to the linearly constrained Lagrangian method for problems with Lipschitzian derivatives but possibly without second derivatives, and our local convergence analysis for these methods improves all the existing theories of this kind.
Evolution of mutualistic symbiosis without vertical transmission.

Mutualistic symbioses are considered to evolve from parasitic relationships. Vertical transmission, defined as the direct transfer of infection from a parent organism to its progeny, has been suggested as a key factor causing reduction of symbiont virulence and evolution of mutualism. On the other hand, there are several mutualistic associations without vertical transmission, such as those between plants and mycorrhizal fungi, legumes and rhizobia, and some corals and dinoflagellates. It is expected that all mutualisms evolve perfect vertical transmission if the relationship is really mutualistic, because hosts may fail to acquire symbionts if they do not transmit the symbionts by vertical transmission. We have developed a mathematical model to clarify the conditions under which mutualistic symbiosis without vertical transmission should evolve. The evolution may occur when and only when (i) vertical transmission involves some costs in the host, (ii) the symbiont suffers direct negative effects if it exploits the host too intensively, (iii) the host establishes the ability to make use of waste products from the symbiont, and (iv) the mechanism of vertical transmission is controlled by the host. We also clarify the conditions under which mutualistic symbiosis with vertical transmission evolves.
Replication of an Autonomous Human Parvovirus in Non-dividing Human Airway Epithelium Is Facilitated through the DNA Damage and Repair Pathways

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) belongs to the genus Bocaparvovirus of the Parvoviridae family, and is an emerging human pathogenic respiratory virus. In vitro, HBoV1 infects well-differentiated/polarized primary human airway epithelium (HAE) cultured at an air-liquid interface (HAE-ALI). Although it is well known that autonomous parvovirus replication depends on the S phase of the host cells, we demonstrate here that the HBoV1 genome amplifies efficiently in mitotically quiescent airway epithelial cells of HAE-ALI cultures. Analysis of HBoV1 DNA in infected HAE-ALI revealed that HBoV1 amplifies its ssDNA genome following a typical parvovirus rolling-hairpin DNA replication mechanism. Notably, HBoV1 infection of HAE-ALI initiates a DNA damage response (DDR) with activation of all three phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase–related kinases (PI3KKs). We found that the activation of the three PI3KKs is required for HBoV1 genome amplification; and, more importantly, we identified that two Y-family DNA polymerases, Pol η and Pol κ, are involved in HBoV1 genome amplification. Overall, we have provided an example of de novo DNA synthesis (genome amplification) of an autonomous parvovirus in non-dividing cells, which is dependent on the cellular DNA damage and repair pathways.
Understanding the Impact of Artefact-Based RE -- Design of a Replication Study

Artefact-based requirements engineering (RE) describes the idea of establishing a company-wide RE reference model by putting the focus on the RE artefacts and their dependencies rather than dictating a strict process with interconnected methods. Previously conducted case studies already strengthen our confidence in certain advantages and shortcomings of the paradigm. Still, our case studies by now remain isolated focussing on particular socio-economic contexts and, thus, the findings can hardly be generalised. Therefore, we need further replications. In this paper, we contribute the design of a replication case study to better understand the impact of artefact-based requirements engineering and, as a long term goal, strengthen an initial theory of expectation we could already infer from results and experiences we made in previous case studies. The replications shall lead to a reliable empirical base due to comparability among the studies. This allows for a (still restricted) generalisability of conclusions on artefact-based requirements engineering.
Estimating false discovery rates for contingency tables

When testing a large number of hypotheses, it can be helpful to estimate or control the false discovery rate (FDR), the expected proportion of tests called significant that are truly null. The FDR is intricately linked to probability that a truly null test is significant, and thus a number of methods have been described that estimate or control the FDR by directly using the p-values of the hypothesis tests. Most of these methods make the assumption that the p-values are uniformly and continuously distributed under the null hypothesis, an assumption that often does not hold for finite data. In this paper, we consider the estimation of FDR for contingency tables. We show how Fisher’s exact test can be extended to efficiently calculate the exact null distribution over a set of contingency tables. Using this exact null distribution, we explore the estimation of each of the terms in the FDR estimation, characterize the asymptotic convergence of the estimator, and show how the conservative bias can be reduced by removing certain tests from consideration. The resulting estimator has substantially less conservative bias than traditional approaches.
Optical coherence tomography versus visual evoked potential in multiple sclerosis patients

Background Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive instrument, which can be used to estimate the thickness of the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) and provides an indirect measurement of axonal destruction in multiple sclerosis (MS). The main aim of this study was to find out any correlations between P100 latency in visual evoked potential (VEP) and RNFL thickness. Methods The patients with the definite history of optic neuritis regardless of the diagnosis of MS were included. The eyes with the history of blurred vision and increased VEP latency (> 115 milliseconds) were considered as cases and the eyes with normal latency were regarded as controls. RNFL thickness was compared between two groups of cases and controls. In addition, the correlation between VEP P100 latency and RNFL thickness in four quadrants of superior, nasal, inferior and temporal fields was estimated by spearman correlation coefficient. RNFL thickness between the patients with history of clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) was also compared to other two subgroups of RRMS and SPMS. Results There was significant negative correlation between VEP P100 latency and RNFL. In all four quadrants, with increasing VEP latency, RNFL thickness decreased. Furthermore, there was significant correlation between P100 latencies and mean RNFL thickness [Pearson correlation coefficient = -0.527, P < 0.001; RNFL (mean) = (-0.44 ± 0.087) × P100 + (153.6 ± 10.94)]. Comparing RNFL thickness between three groups of CIS, RRMS, and SPSM, no significant difference was detected in RNFL thickness (P > 0.05). Power analysis demonstrated that RNFL average had the highest area under curve. Conclusion OCT does have good correlations with P100 latency, indicating retinal non-myelinated axonal involvement in early stages in addition to the myelinated axonal involvement. However, it cannot be used as the sole test in evaluating visual pathway in optic neuritis and complementary tests as VEPs are recommended.
The CAPM Risk Adjustment Needed for Exact Aggregation over Financial Assets

This cumulative working paper contains the unified joint research completed so far on monetary aggregation under risk, including the extension of index number theory needed to incorporate adjustments for risk into the rate structure, experiments on tracking ability of the unadjusted index, and results on velocity instability when the risk adjustment is ignored and velocity instability is induced by overlooked stochastic volatility of interest rates. The paper was presented at the September 1995 Conference on Computation and Estimation in Finance and Economics, held at Washington University and organized by William Barnett, Lars Hansen, and George Tauchen. The conference proceedings will be published by Cambridge University Press.
ART AND SCIENCE OF LIFE: DESIGNING AND GROWING VIRTUAL PLANTS WITH L-SYSTEMS

Virtual plants are computer models that recreate the structure and simulate the development of plants. Virtual plant modeling is an interdisciplinary area combining mathematical formalisms, biological knowledge, and computer graphics techniques. An important modeling method is based on the theory of Lindenmayer systems (L−systems). At present, L−system models make it possible to: (a) accurately reproduce the structure and development of plants; (b) show how architectural parameters (e.g., branching angles, elongation rates, vigor of branches) affect the appearance of plants; (c) simulate plant physiology and investigate the effects of manipulations (e.g., pruning, bonsai techniques) or different external conditions (e.g., local light microclimate, water availability, crowding) on plant development; and (d) simulate plants not only in isolation, but also in their ecological contexts. Currently constructed research models also address the genetic basis of plant form. In horticulture, the models are potentially useful as an exploration tool, indicating desirable directions of breeding and manipulating ornamental plants for maximum visual impact, and fruit plants for maximum yield. Other applications include fundamental research and teaching of biology, and landscape design. This paper describes the current state of the L−system−based modeling methodology as supported by L−studio and Virtual Laboratory, plant modeling software developed at the University of Calgary.
Interactions of task and subject variables among continuous performance tests.

BACKGROUND Contemporary models of working memory suggest that target paradigm (TP) and target density (TD) should interact as influences on error rates derived from continuous performance tests (CPTs). The present study evaluated this hypothesis empirically in a typically developing, ethnically diverse sample of children. The extent to which scores based on different combinations of these task parameters showed different patterns of relationship to age, intelligence, and gender was also assessed. METHODS Four continuous performance tests were derived by combining two target paradigms (AX and repeated letter target stimuli) with two levels of target density (8.3% and 33%). Variations in mean omission (OE) and commission (CE) error rates were examined within and across combinations of TP and TD. In addition, a nested series of structural equation models was utilized to examine patterns of relationship among error rates, age, intelligence, and gender. RESULTS Target paradigm and target density interacted as influences on error rates. Increasing density resulted in higher OE and CE rates for the AX paradigm. In contrast, the high density condition yielded a decline in OE rates accompanied by a small increase in CEs using the repeated letter CPT. Target paradigms were also distinguishable on the basis of age when using OEs as the performance measure, whereas combinations of age and intelligence distinguished between density levels but not target paradigms using CEs as the dependent measure. CONCLUSIONS Different combinations of target paradigm and target density appear to yield scores that are conceptually and psychometrically distinguishable. Consequently, developmentally appropriate interpretation of error rates across tasks may require (a) careful analysis of working memory and attentional resources required for successful performance, and (b) normative data bases that are differently stratified with respect to combinations of age and intelligence.
Assessment on the Instability of a Suspension Bridge with a Hexagonal Cross-section under Wind Action

A numerical method is developed to predict the dynamic responses of a suspension bridge under wind action in a two-dimensional sense. In particular, the behaviour of a vibrating deck with a hexagonal cross-section is examined. Moreover, the influence of the attack angle, mass eccentricity and the vertical-totorsional frequency ratio are discussed. Results show that the case with the largest attack angle (8) leads to the greatest fluctuating responses. A similar tendency is also detected when the mass center is shifted downstream. Finally, as the frequency ratio changes from 1.2 to unity, the critical velocity decreases about 14%.
White Female Bystanders’ Responses to a Black Woman at Risk for Sexual Assault: Associations With Attitudes About Sexism and Racial Injustice

ABSTRACT Women of color are affected by both sexism and racism. We examined White women’s attitudes about sexism (hostile and benevolent sexism) and racial injustice (White empathic responses to racism) as correlates of their responses to a Black woman at risk for an alcohol-related sexual assault. White undergraduate women (N = 172) reported on their attitudes and then completed measures of blame and willingness to intervene in response to a scenario in which a woman named “LaToya” is at risk. All 3 types of attitudes were directly related to victim blame, whereas only hostile sexism was directly, negatively related to willingness to intervene. White empathic responses to racism moderated the associations between benevolent sexism and both victim blame and willingness to intervene. Results suggest that among White female bystanders, both hostile and benevolent sexist attitudes were related to increased blame and reduced willingness to intervene to help Black women at risk. The adverse effects of benevolent sexism, however, were reduced for those with greater concerns about racial injustice.