Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Examining Mediators to Physical Activity as a Link to Interventional Efforts Aimed at Increasing Activity Levels and Improving Physical Functioning in Older Adults

Study 1 Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine whether awareness and utilization of fitness resources and overall physical activity engagement differed depending on residential distance from community-based fitness resources (CBFR). Methods. Four hundred and seventeen older adults (72.9 ± 7.7 years) were randomly recruited from three spatial tiers (≤1, >1 to ≤2, and >2 to 5 miles) surrounding seven senior centers, which housed CBFR. Participants were mailed and returned a health history questionnaire, a CBFR questionnaire and the CHAMPS physical activity questionnaire. Chi square tests were performed to examine if awareness and utilization of CBFR differed across spatial tiers. Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed to examine if engagement in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) differed across spatial tiers. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to identify predictors to physical activity engagement, and binary logistic regression analyses to identify barriers to CBFR utilization. Results. There were no differences in awareness of CBFR across spatial tiers (χ2=0.90, df=2, p=.637), with 48.4% being aware of CBFR in ≤1 mile radius, 50.0% in the >1 to ≤2 mile radius, and 44.4% in the >2 to 5 mile radius. However, only 2.9% of all participants utilized CBFR, with no differences across spatial tiers (χ2=2.37, df=2, p=.306). Across all sites, participants expended 1601±2293 kcals/wk. Engagement in MVPA differed across spatial tiers (χ2=15.74, df=2, p 2 to 5 mile radius having the highest mean energy expenditure. Across all sites, age (β=-.04, p<.05) and income level (β=.92, p<.05) were significant predictors of low and high amounts of MVPA, respectively, and current health status and lack of interest represented significant barriers to CBFR utilization (p<.05). Conclusion. Closer proximity to CBFR did not impact awareness or utilization rates of such resources. Physical activity levels marginally increased the further one resided from CBFR. Given the very low utilization rates of CBFR, despite awareness and close proximity to such resources, further work is warranted to investigate complimentary intervention strategies for older adults in an effort to increase physical activity levels.
Damped oscillator cepstral coefficients for robust speech recognition

This paper presents a new signal-processing technique motivated by the physiology of human auditory system. In this approach, auditory hair cells are modeled as damped oscillators that are stimulated by bandlimited time domain speech signals acting as forcing functions. Oscillation synchrony is induced by time aligning and three-way coupling of the forcing functions across the individual bands such that a given oscillator is induced not only by its critical band’s forcing function but also by its two neighboring functions. We present two separate features; one which uses the damped oscillator response to the forcing functions without synchrony which we name as the Damped Oscillator Cepstral Coefficient (DOCC) and the other which uses the damped oscillator response to a time synchronized forcing function and we name it as the Synchronized Damped Oscillator Cepstral Coefficient (SyDOCC). The proposed features are used in an Aurora4 noise-and channel-degraded speech recognition task, and the results indicate that they improved speech-recognition performance in all conditions compared to the baseline mel-cepstral feature and other published noise robust features.
Structural Hippocampal Anomalies in a Schizophrenia Population Correlate with Navigation Performance on a Wayfinding Task

Episodic memory, related to the hippocampus, has been found to be impaired in schizophrenia. Further, hippocampal anomalies have also been observed in schizophrenia. This study investigated whether average hippocampal gray matter (GM) would differentiate performance on a hippocampus-dependent memory task in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Twenty-one patients with schizophrenia and 22 control participants were scanned with an MRI while being tested on a wayfinding task in a virtual town (e.g., find the grocery store from the school). Regressions were performed for both groups individually and together using GM and performance on the wayfinding task. Results indicate that controls successfully completed the task more often than patients, took less time, and made fewer errors. Additionally, controls had significantly more hippocampal GM than patients. Poor performance was associated with a GM decrease in the right hippocampus for both groups. Within group regressions found an association between right hippocampi GM and performance in controls and an association between the left hippocampi GM and performance in patients. A second analysis revealed that different anatomical GM regions, known to be associated with the hippocampus, such as the parahippocampal cortex, amygdala, medial, and orbital prefrontal cortices, covaried with the hippocampus in the control group. Interestingly, the cuneus and cingulate gyrus also covaried with the hippocampus in the patient group but the orbital frontal cortex did not, supporting the hypothesis of impaired connectivity between the hippocampus and the frontal cortex in schizophrenia. These results present important implications for creating intervention programs aimed at measuring functional and structural changes in the hippocampus in schizophrenia.
A Resource-Based Perspective on Information Technology Capability and Firm Performance: An Empirical Investigation

The resource-based view of the firm attributes superior financial performance to organizational resources and capabilities. This paper develops the concept of IT as an organizational capability and empirically examines the association between IT capability and firm performance. Firm specific IT resources are classified as IT infrastructure, human IT resources, and IT-enabled intangibles. A matched-sample comparison group methodology and publicly available ratings are used to assess IT capability and firm performance. Results indicate that firms with high IT capability tend to outperform a control sample of firms on a variety of profit and cost-based performance measures.
Effects of nitrogen nutrition on the synthesis and deposition of the ω-gliadins of wheat

Background and Aims The ω-gliadin storage proteins of wheat are of interest in relation to their impact on grain processing properties and their role in food allergy, particularly the ω-5 sub-group and wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis. The ω-gliadins are also known to be responsive to nitrogen application. This study therefore compares the effects of cultivar and nitrogen availability on the synthesis and deposition of ω-gliadins in wheat grown under field conditions in the UK, including temporal and spatial analyses at the protein and transcript levels. Methods SDS–PAGE, western blotting and N-terminal amino acid sequencing were used to compare the patterns of ω-gliadin components in mature grain of six British wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars and their accumulation during the development of grain grown in field plots with varying nitrogen supply. Changes in gene expression during development were determined using real-time reverse transcription–PCR (RT–PCR). Spatial patterns of gene expression and protein accumulation were determined by in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence microscopy, respectively. Key Results Two patterns of ω-gliadins were identified in the six cultivars, including both monomeric ‘gliadin’ proteins and subunits present in polymeric ‘glutenin’ fractions. Increasing the level of nitrogen fertilizer in field plots resulted in increased expression of ω-gliadin transcripts and increased proportions of ω-5 gliadins. Nitrogen supply also affected the spatial patterns of ω-gliadin synthesis and deposition, which were differentially increased in the outer layers of the starchy endosperm with high levels of nitrogen. Conclusions Wheat ω-gliadins vary in amount and composition between cultivars, and in their response to nitrogen supply. Their spatial distribution is also affected by nitrogen supply, being most highly concentrated in the sub-aleurone cells of the starchy endosperm under higher nitrogen availability.
Weight Loss in Rats Produced by Running: Effects of Prior Experience and Individual Housing

To investigate factors affecting activity-based anorexia (ABA) or activity-stress (AS), rats were given 2-hr access to a running wheel immediately prior to their daily 1.5-hr food access during the light cycle. This produced a reduction in food intake, a steady increase in running, and a large drop in body weight with a prolonged delay before weight recovery began. Experiment 1 found that these effects were reduced in rats with prior experience of eating at this time of day. In contrast, prior experience of running in the wheel when on ad lib food enhanced these effects in Experiment 2, where a subsequent change for half the subjects to individual housing produced a further decrease in body weight. The latter factor was investigated from the outset of Experiment 3 and again individually housed rats showed greater weight loss than did group-housed rats. This experiment also found that in rats of the same age a low initial body weight predicts greater vulnerability to ABA. It was concluded that ABA results from activity-induced reduction of feeding, which prolongs adaptation to a new feeding schedule and is accentuated by social isolation.
Developing a psychological model of users' experience of public-service websites

This research aims to study the influence of individual-difference variables (need for cognition as a trait, self-efficacy as a trait, self-efficacy as a state and intrinsic motivation) on user experience and technology acceptance, moderated by artefact and task characteristics. User experience outcomes include mental effort, perceptions of aesthetics (classic aesthetics and expressive aesthetics), enjoyment and disorientation. In addition, technology acceptance variables such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and intention to use are other important outcome measures in this study. The current research addresses the following research question: What is the effect of individual-difference variables on user experience outcomes of the use of public-sector Web sites and how is the effect moderated by artefact characteristics and task characteristics?
Inhibitory effect of colchicines on amylase secretion by rat parotid glands: possible localization in the golgi area

Colchicine inhibited amylase secretion by isolated rat parotid glands only 6 h after administration of the drug in vivo. This delayed effect was not the result of the inability of the drug to reach its reaction site. When parotid glands were emptied of their secretory granules by isoproterenol treatment, the subsequent replenishment of cells with granules was inhibited by colchicines. Colchicine concomitantly produced alterations of the Golgi complexes, the cisternae of which were reduced in size and surrounded by clusters of microvesicles. Incubation of parotid glands with colchicines for prolonged durations failed to alter stored amylase secretion as stimulated by isoproterenol, but it inhibited the release of de novo synthesized enzyme. Another colchicines-binding activity, firmly bound to the particular fraction of homogenates, was found, of which a part may represent membrane located microtubular protein. An assembly-disassembly cycle of microtubules appears to exist in the parotid gland, as in the liver. However, only 14 percent of tubulin was found to be polymerized as microtubules in parotid glands as opposed to 40 percent in the liver. The present data suggest that colchicine primarily inhibits the transfer of secretory material towards or away from the Golgi complexes but not the hormone-stimulated secretion of stored amylase.
Asymptotic rejection of sinusoidal disturbances with recovered nominal transient performance for uncertain linear systems

This paper presents a disturbance observer (DOB) for a class of linear systems which has the following features: 1) it recovers the nominal pre-designed time trajectory (approximately but arbitrarily closely) under plant uncertainties and disturbances, not only in the steady-state but also in the transient period; and moreover 2) it eliminates sinusoidal disturbances asymptotically (rather than approximately) by embedding the generating model of the disturbances into the DOB structure. In particular, we implement the embedding with reduced order compared to other DOB schemes, at the expense of complexity on the stability condition. Furthermore, a new design guideline is provided to cope with this condition under arbitrarily large (but bounded) plant uncertainties.
Becoming an emerging adult: Demographic and cultural factors, coping style, and coping self-efficacy as predictors of exploration and commitment during the resolution of an emerging adult's identity crisis

Throughout the course of human history, individuals have been forced to face a vast array of stressful situations. Each of these experiences and encounters required adequate management, if not to ensure survival, then to provide education or protection. Simultaneously, human beings were diversifying, establishing groups based on physical and cognitive representations, values, beliefs, and other environmentally based concepts. What appeared to emerge is the idea of culture, a concept developed out of vastness that is the human being, and a need for individual identities. The current investigation examined these concepts, guided by six research hypotheses (a) when combined, the demographic and cultural factors of age, gender, ethnicity, religious or spiritual affiliation, and religious or spiritual service attendance are significant predictors of levels of exploration and commitment during identity conflict resolution of emerging adults, (b) when combined, the demographic and cultural factors of age, gender, ethnicity, religious or spiritual affiliation, and religious or spiritual service attendance are significant predictors of selected dispositional and situation specific coping approaches, (c) when combined, the demographic and cultural factors of age, gender, ethnicity, religious or spiritual affiliation, and religious or spiritual service attendance are significant predictors of the self-efficacy of implemented coping styles, (d) dispositional and situation specific coping behaviors are significant predictors of levels of exploration and commitment during identity conflict resolution, (e) self-efficacy in the implemented coping behaviors is a significant predictor of levels of exploration and commitment during identity conflict resolution, and (f) when combined, dispositional coping, situation specific coping, and self-efficacy of implemented coping behaviors are significant predictors of levels of exploration and commitment during identity conflict resolution. A sample (n = 246), drawn from a public college campus in the Southeastern United States, was asked to complete a demographic questionnaire and four self-report questionnaires aimed at exploring each of the six research hypotheses. Collected data were analyzed using hypothesis specific multiple regression analyses. The regressions suggested that selection of various coping styles are predicted by demographic and cultural variables. It was further suggested that the selected coping styles and a combination selected coping style and self-efficacy of the selected style are predictive of exploration and commitment during the resolution of the emerging adult identity crisis. Accompanying the results are theoretical and conceptual implications, limitations of the findings, and implications for practice and research.
High School Students' Representations and Understandings of Electric Fields.

This study investigates the representations and understandings of electric fields expressed by Chinese high school students 15 to 16 years old who have not received high school level physics instruction. The physics education research literature has reported students’ conceptions of electric fields postinstruction as indicated by students’ performance on textbook-style questions. It has, however, inadequately captured student ideas expressed in other situations yet informative to educational research. In this study, we explore students’ ideas of electric fields preinstruction as shown by students’ representations produced in openended activities. 92 participant students completed a worksheet that involved drawing comic strips about electric charges as characters of a cartoon series. Three students who had spontaneously produced arrow diagrams were interviewed individually after class. We identified nine ideas related to electric fields that these three students spontaneously leveraged in the comic strip activity. In this paper, we describe in detail each idea and its situated context. As most research in the literature has understood students as having relatively fixed conceptions and mostly identified divergences in those conceptions from canonical targets, this study shows students’ reasoning to be more variable in particular moments, and that variability includes common sense resources that can be productive for learning about electric fields.
Teaching Psychology in large classes: An international survey of solutions

The aim of this ED500 project was to create an overview of problem solutions for teaching a large first year Psychology subject. This project was motivated by an immediate need to make changes to the existing structure of first year Psychology at the University of Queensland. The problems faced by first year Psychology at the University of Queensland are typical problems of any large first year subject, including problems of student apathy and feelings of isolation, lecturer feelings of being overwhelmed, problems of creating small group learning for large numbers, and assessing large numbers of students sensitively. In this report, I first briefly review the structure of first year psychology at U.Q. , then I review relevant literature on large group instruction and relate it to first year Psychology at U.Q. Next, I outline the educational goals of first year psychology at U.Q. , and discuss relevant educational approaches to achievement of those goals. Finally, I review findings from my international survey of first year psychology classes, briefly evaluate first year psychology at U.Q. in light of those findings, and propose curriculum changes for first year Psychology at U.Q.
Definition of pRB- and p53-Dependent and -Independent Steps in HIRA/ASF1a-Mediated Formation of Senescence-Associated Heterochromatin Foci

ABSTRACT Cellular senescence is an irreversible proliferation arrest triggered by short chromosome telomeres, activated oncogenes, and cell stress and mediated by the pRB and p53 tumor suppressor pathways. One of the earliest steps in the senescence program is translocation of a histone chaperone, HIRA, into promyelocytic leukemia (PML) nuclear bodies. This relocalization precedes other markers of senescence, including the appearance of specialized domains of facultative heterochromatin called senescence-associated heterochromatin foci (SAHF) and cell cycle exit. SAHF represses expression of proliferation-promoting genes, thereby driving exit from the cell cycle. HIRA bound to another histone chaperone, ASF1a, drives formation of SAHF. Here, we show that HIRA's translocation to PML bodies occurs in response to all senescence triggers tested. Dominant negative HIRA mutants that block HIRA's localization to PML bodies prevent formation of SAHF, as does a PML-RARα fusion protein which disrupts PML bodies, directly supporting the idea that localization of HIRA to PML bodies is required for formation of SAHF. Significantly, translocation of HIRA to PML bodies occurs in the absence of functional pRB and p53 tumor suppressor pathways. However, our evidence indicates that downstream of HIRA's localization to PML bodies, the HIRA/ASF1a pathway cooperates with pRB and p53 to make SAHF, with the HIRA/ASF1a and pRB pathways acting in parallel. We present evidence that convergence of the HIRA/ASF1a and pRB pathways occurs through a DNAJ-domain protein, DNAJA2.
Gender Differences in Academic Attitudes among Gifted Elementary School Students

A number of studies have documented gender differences in the academic attitudes of gifted adolescents, but few studies have investigated these differences among students younger than age 12. Very few studies explore the age at which the differences emerge. The present study investigated four questions: Are gender differences in attitudes toward academic subjects evident among gifted 3rd through 6th graders? Do the students' attitudes toward school subjects vary according to grade level? Do gender differences become more or less pronounced from 3rd to 6th grade? Are attitudes toward academic areas related to students' ability in those areas? To address these questions, 2,089 gifted 3rd- through 6th-grade children rated their liking for 11 academic areas. Observed gender differences were consistent with those found in research with older students participating in talent-search programs. Grade-level differences suggest that attitudes toward several academic areas become more negative with age. Attitudes were not related to tested academic ability.
Application of Gravity Vectors and Moving Vectors for the Acceleration of Both Differential Evolution and Interactive Differential Evolution

We propose and evaluate two methods for accelerating differential evolution and interactive differential evolution (IDE). The first acceleration method, which we call DE/gravity, aims to realize performance similar to that of paired-comparison-based IDE/best while removing the requirement that the IDE user must choose the best individual among all displayed individuals. The second acceleration method generates not only a conventional trial vector but also a second and third trial vector. It calculates a moving average vector, $X_{moving}$, for the population between generations, and compares a given target vector with the three trial vectors of a conventional trial vector, a target vector + $X_{moving}$, and a trial vector + $X_{moving}$, and uses the best one among the four vectors as offspring in the next generation. We evaluate these acceleration methods and a conventional method by applying them to Gaussian mixture models and demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed methods.