Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Proof System for Communicating Sequential Processes

An axiomatic proof system is presented for proving partial correctness and absence of deadlock (and failure) of communicating sequential processes. The key (meta) rule introduces cooperation between proofs, a new concept needed to deal with proofs about synchronization by message passing. CSP's new convention for distributed termination of loops is dealt with. Applications of the method involve correctness proofs for two algorithms, one for distributed partitioning of sets, the other for distributed computation of the greatest common divisor of n numbers.
Rights, identities and belonging: Reflections on the everyday politics of urban citizenship in Delft, Cape Town

ABSTRACT The purpose of the article is to explore the complex and contested politics of urban citizenship in relation to everyday spaces in Delft, a poor township in Cape Town South Africa. The arguments build upon a decade of ethnographic research on community politics and organizing relating to housing in Delft, Cape Town. Through illustrative examples, the author shows how housing rights and policies have been mediated through and imbricated with racial identities, residential status and notions of belonging in the community. She finds that these subjectivities are not inherent in conflict but often overlap and work simultaneously in community organizing and practice. These findings inform a critical engagement with current rethinking of urban citizenship in the Global South. The author argues that attention to the ordinary and everyday practices of citizenship may lead to a better understanding of how political subjectivities and agency are produced and practised. She concludes by proposing three dimensions that could guide a research agenda on everyday politics of urban citizenship: reconstructions of political subjectivities through state–society encounters, implications of differentiated subjectivities for how urban citizenship is perceived and claimed, and what practices of citizenship are seen as expressions of political agency.
Association of Multiple Cellular Stress Pathways With Accelerated Atherosclerosis in Hyperhomocysteinemic Apolipoprotein E-Deficient Mice

Background—A causal relation between hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) and accelerated atherosclerosis has been established in apolipoprotein E–deficient (apoE−/−) mice. Although several cellular stress mechanisms have been proposed to explain the atherogenic effects of HHcy, including oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and inflammation, their association with atherogenesis has not been completely elucidated. Methods and Results—ApoE−/− mice were fed a control or a high-methionine (HM) diet for 4 (early lesion group) or 18 (advanced lesion group) weeks to induce HHcy. Total plasma homocysteine levels and atherosclerotic lesion size were significantly increased in early and advanced lesion groups fed the HM diet compared with control groups. Markers of ER stress (GRP78/94, phospho-PERK), oxidative stress (HSP70), and inflammation (phospho-IκB-&agr;) were assessed by immunohistochemical staining of these atherosclerotic lesions. GRP78/94, HSP70, and phospho-IκB-&agr; immunostaining were significantly increased in the advanced lesion group fed the HM diet compared with the control group. HSP47, an ER-resident molecular chaperone involved in collagen folding and secretion, was also increased in advanced lesions of mice fed the HM diet. GRP78/94 and HSP47 were predominantly localized to the smooth muscle cell–rich fibrous cap, whereas HSP70 and phospho-IκB-&agr; were observed in the lipid-rich necrotic core. Increased HSP70 and phospho-IκB-&agr; immunostaining in advanced lesions of mice fed the HM diet are consistent with enhanced carotid artery dihydroethidium staining. Interestingly, GRP78/94 and phospho-PERK were markedly increased in macrophage foam cells from early lesions of mice fed the control or the HM diet. Conclusions—Multiple cellular stress pathways, including ER stress, are associated with atherosclerotic lesion development in apoE−/− mice.
Annales Geophysicae Geomagnetic storm effects on GPS based navigation

The energetic events on the sun, solar wind and subsequent effects on the Earth’s geomagnetic field and upper atmosphere (ionosphere) comprise space weather. Modern navigation systems that use radio-wave signals, reflecting from or propagating through the ionosphere as a means of determining range or distance, are vulnerable to a variety of effects that can degrade the performance of the navigational systems. In particular, the Global Positioning System (GPS) that uses a constellation of earth orbiting satellites are affected due to the space weather phenomena. Studies made during two successive geomagnetic storms that occurred during the period from 8 to 12 November 2004, have clearly revealed the adverse affects on the GPS range delay as inferred from the Total Electron Content (TEC) measurements made from a chain of seven dual frequency GPS receivers installed in the Indian sector. Significant increases in TEC at the Equatorial Ionization anomaly crest region are observed, resulting in increased range delay during the periods of the storm activity. Further, the storm time rapid changes occurring in TEC resulted in a number of phase slips in the GPS signal compared to those on quiet days. These phase slips often result in the loss of lock of the GPS receivers, similar to those that occur during strong( >10 dB) Lband scintillation events, adversely affecting the GPS based navigation.
The Relationship between Pre-service Teachers’ Lifelong Learning Tendencies and the Quality of University Life

Abstract This study aims to examine the relationship between pre-service teachers’ lifelong learning tendencies and their perceptions about the quality of university life with respect to certain variables (their gender, subject-areas, and graduation status). The pre-service teachers (n= 552) in the spring semester of the 2014-2015 academic year at Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu-Turkey formed the study group, and it was designed as a survey study. The quantitative data were collected through a “Quality of Faculty Life Scale” and a “Lifelong Learning Tendencies Scale”. The data were analyzed using the SSPS for Windows 20 Program and for the analysis of the data, the mean and standard deviation scores were calculated, an independent samples t-test was used and the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient scores were calculated. The results of the study revealed a significant relationship between the quality of faculty life and the lifelong learning tendencies of pre-service teachers.
Narrative skill in Mandarin-speaking children with language impairment

This study investigates the narrative skill of school-aged children with language impairment in Taiwan. Twelve children, 6 children with language impairment (LI) and 6 children with typical language development (TLD), aged from 8;0 to 9;5 participated in this study. They were asked to tell three personally experienced stories and the longest one was selected and coded along four dimensions, i.e., narrative structure, conjunction, referential strategies, and discourse context. The revision of the Chinese Narrative Assessment Profile (NAP) was also used to score children’s narrative performance. Results show that the children with LI had more difficulties in producing clear, coherent narratives. In comparison with the stories narrated by children with TLD, the stories produced by children with LI exhibited fewer narrative components, evaluation devices, and connectives, but more ambiguous referencing information was evident in their narratives. The narrative profile of each child with LI, however, varied. Limitations of this study and suggestions for further research on narrative skill in children with LI were provided.
Peer Reviewed Title: Predictors of serological failure after treatment in HIV-infected patients with early syphilis in the emerging Era of universal antiretroviral therapy use

Abstract Background The optimal treatment of early syphilis (primary, secondary and early latent) in HIV-infected patients remains controversial. The Center for Diseases Control STD Treatment Guidelines recommended 1 dose of benzathine penicillin G (BPG) regardless of HIV infection. However, many providers modify the treatment for early syphilis. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of all cases of early syphilis with positive serologic test results in HIV-infected patients from May 2006 to May 2011 in 2 large, urban HIV clinics. Early syphilis includes primary, secondary, and early latent syphilis. Serological failure was defined as a lack of 4-fold decrease in rapid plasma reagent (RPR) titers 9 to 12 months after syphilis treatment. Patients whose RPR titers decreased after treatment and subsequently increased 4-fold at 9 to 12 months were excluded from the analysis of serological response because of possibility as “reinfection”. Baseline characteristics were tested as predictive factors of serological failure using a univariate and multivariate logistic regression model, respectively. Results Of 560 patients with confirmed cases of early syphilis, 51 (9.0%)
Learning the hard way: Need for Cognition influences attitudes toward and self-reported use of desirable difficulties

Abstract We investigate the relationship between Need for Cognition (NFC), attitude towards and self-reported application of different desirable difficulties in self-regulated learning. Students with a higher NFC should be more appreciative and prone to use desirable difficulties because of a match between the learner’s attributes and the learning task requirements: cognitively effortful learning conditions will be preferred by students with a higher propensity for cognitive challenges. Supporting our hypotheses, we show that indeed a higher NFC positively relates to attitudes and use of different desirable difficulties (Study 1–2), especially to self-generating of materials and predictions, but weaker and inconsistently to interleaving/spacing and self-testing/practicing. While self-generating of contents and predictions loaded on one factor, and interleaving/spacing together with self-testing/practicing loaded on another factor, this two-factor structure was reliably obtained for self-reported use, yet for attitudes a one-factor structure did fit. Most importantly though, the observed relationship between NFC and different desirable difficulties could neither be explained by high school graduation grade, indicating academic competence (Study 1), nor by academic self-concept as one’s perception of one’s academic abilities (Study 2). Results are discussed within an information-processing framework related to implications for desirable difficulties as learning strategies.
The Roles of Hedgehog Signaling in Upper Lip Formation

Craniofacial development consists of a highly complex sequence of the orchestrated growth and fusion of facial processes. It is also known that craniofacial abnormalities can be detected in 1/3 of all patients with congenital diseases. Within the various craniofacial abnormalities, orofacial clefting is one of the most common phenotypic outcomes associated with retarded facial growth or fusion. Cleft lip is one of the representative and frequently encountered conditions in the spectrum of orofacial clefting. Despite various mechanisms or signaling pathways that have been proposed to be the cause of cleft lip, a detailed mechanism that bridges individual signaling pathways to the cleft lip is still elusive. Shh signaling is indispensable for normal embryonic development, and disruption can result in a wide spectrum of craniofacial disorders, including cleft lip. This review focuses on the current knowledge about the mechanisms of facial development and the etiology of cleft lip that are related to Shh signaling.
Selective modulation of excitatory and inhibitory microcircuits by dopamine

Dopamine plays an important role in the working memory functions of the prefrontal cortex, functions that are impacted in age-related memory decline, drug abuse, and a wide variety of disorders, including schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease. We have previously reported that dopamine depresses excitatory transmission between pyramidal neurons in the prefrontal cortex. Here, using paired recordings, we have investigated dopaminergic modulation of excitatory transmission from pyramidal neurons to fast-spiking (FS) interneurons. In contrast to its effect on recurrent excitation, dopamine was without effect on excitatory transmission to FS interneurons. However, dopamine has directly enhanced the excitability of the FS interneurons to the extent that even a single excitatory postsynaptic potential could initiate spiking with great temporal precision in some of them. These results indicate that dopamine's effects on excitatory transmission are target-specific and that the axon terminals of pyramidal neurons can be selectively regulated at the level of individual synapses. Thus, dopamine's net inhibitory effect on cortical function is remarkably constrained by the nature of the microcircuit elements on which it acts.
Do migrants follow market potentials? An estimation of a new economic geography model

New Economic Geography models describe a cumulative process of spatial agglomeration: Firms tend to cluster in locations with good access to demand, and similarly, workers are drawn to regions where market potential is high because the price index is lower there. This paper provides an empirical assessment of this forward linkage that relates labour migrations to the geography of production through real wage differentials. In the spirit of Hanson (1998), we use bilateral migration data for five European countries over the 1980s and 1990s to perform quasi-structural estimations of a new economic geography model derived from Krugman (1991). The results show strong evidence in favor of this model. As expected, migrants do follow market potential. Moreover, we provide estimates for all key parameters of the model. These estimates suggest that a sudden emergence of a core-periphery pattern is unlikely within European countries: centripetal forces are too limited in geographical scope, and mobility costs are too high.
Superposition Formulas for Darboux Integrable Exterior Differential Systems

In this paper we present a far-reaching generalization of E. Vessiot's analysis of the Darboux integrable partial differential equations in one dependent and two independent variables. Our approach provides new insights into this classical method, uncovers the fundamental geometric invariants of Darboux integrable systems, and provides for systematic, algorithmic integration of such systems. This work is formulated within the general framework of Pfaffian exterior differential systems and, as such, has applications well beyond those currently found in the literature. In particular, our integration method is applicable to systems of hyperbolic PDE such as the Toda lattice equations, 2 dimensional wave maps and systems of overdetermined PDE.
Exploring Bioactive Properties of Marine Cyanobacteria Isolated from the Portuguese Coast: High Potential as a Source of Anticancer Compounds

The oceans remain a major source of natural compounds with potential in pharmacology. In particular, during the last few decades, marine cyanobacteria have been in focus as producers of interesting bioactive compounds, especially for the treatment of cancer. In this study, the anticancer potential of extracts from twenty eight marine cyanobacteria strains, belonging to the underexplored picoplanktonic genera, Cyanobium, Synechocystis and Synechococcus, and the filamentous genera, Nodosilinea, Leptolyngbya, Pseudanabaena and Romeria, were assessed in eight human tumor cell lines. First, a crude extract was obtained by dichloromethane:methanol extraction, and from it, three fractions were separated in a Si column chromatography. The crude extract and fractions were tested in eight human cancer cell lines for cell viability/toxicity, accessed with the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and lactic dehydrogenase release (LDH) assays. Eight point nine percent of the strains revealed strong cytotoxicity; 17.8% showed moderate cytotoxicity, and 14.3% assays showed low toxicity. The results obtained revealed that the studied genera of marine cyanobacteria are a promising source of novel compounds with potential anticancer activity and highlight the interest in also exploring the smaller filamentous and picoplanktonic genera of cyanobacteria.
Acceptance and Use of Moodle by Students and Academics

Learning management systems such as Moodle have become an integral part of today's universities. While commonly used throughout the world, there has been disproportionate attention to peoples' acceptance and use of such technologies. What is worth specific attention is how students may perceive learning technologies differently to their professors. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology or UTAUT (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis and Davis, 2003) we examine the attitudes towards and usage behaviours of Moodle for both students and academics. The findings point to key similarities and differences, the latter of which departs from extant literature that suggests no difference between generations. However given the lack of support for the UTAUT model, it is suggested that theoretical models of technology acceptance and use need to evolve to appropriately capture the environment of higher education in which learning management systems such as Moodle are used.
The human medial temporal lobe, brain connectivity, and recognition memory

The brain is made up of networks of brain regions that interact through white matter fibre tracts. These pathways are collections of thousands of axons and are vital for the successful functioning of the brain. The recent development of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has made it possible to investigate the integrity of these tracts in the human brain, whilst advances in the analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data have enabled the functional interaction between brain regions to be assessed. The first aim of this thesis was to investigate one of the main white matter tracts of the medial temporal lobe (MTL), a region of the brain that has been implicated in long-term memory (LTM) functioning. Specifically, the relationship between the microstructural integrity of the fornix, the major efferent of the hippocampus, and recognition memory performance (as assessed by an experimental task) was explored in young adults (Chapter 2). Our results showed that the ability of young adults on recollection, but not familiarity, memory correlated significantly with fornix microstructural integrity. These results speak to theories of MTL function and highlight a role for the hippocampus in recollection. In Chapter 3, it was investigated whether variations in fornix microstructure in young adults are also associated with differences in recall and recognition memory abilities as measured by standard psychometric memory tests. Although aspects of the results from this work converged with those from the first study, an inconsistent pattern of findings was observed overall, perhaps reflecting the relative insensitivity of the standard memory tests used. Next, the consequences of organic brain damage to MTL regions on white matter and resting-state functional connectivity of the brain were investigated in two amnesic patients with focal MTL lesions (Chapter 4). DTI and resting-state fMRI revealed that, compared to age-matched neurologically healthy controls, a patient with gross MTL damage had significant white matter changes in her fornix and right uncinate fasciulus, and also reduced functional connectivity between brain regions associated with the posterior hippocampus resting-state network. Surprisingly, a patient with selective bilateral damage to the hippocampus did not have any significant changes to her resting-state networks or white matter integrity. Finally, a large scale behavioural study was conducted to determine whether a single cognitive training task could be created to improve LTM. This was the first stage of a project designed to determine whether the improvement of LTM via cognitive training is supported by changes in white matter integrity and functional connectivity (Chapter 5). It was found that extensive cognitive training in young adults on a complex spatial working memory task was able to stimulate improvements in recognition memory in some participants. The limitations and implications of the findings from all of the aforementioned studies are considered in the concluding chapter (Chapter 6).
Self-enhancement: Conceptualization and Assessment

Self-enhancement bias is conventionally construed as an unwarranted social comparison in social psychology and a misperception of social reality in personality psychology. Researchers in both fields rely heavily on discrepancy scores to represent self-enhancement and fail to distinguish between a general tendency or bias to self-enhance and a self-enhancement error, or false perception of own excellence. We critically review prominent discrepancy measures and then propose a decision-theoretic alternative that [a] mitigates confounds between self-positivity and self-superiority, [b] separates error from bias, and [c] discourages reliance on measures that reify self-enhancement as a stable personality trait. To evaluate our hypotheses, we re-analyze data collected in our laboratory and perform a series of simulation studies. We share these materials with interested researchers.
A statistical study of intense electric fields at 4−7 R E geocentric distance using Cluster

Abstract. Intense high-latitude electric fields (>150 mV/m mapped to ionospheric altitude) at 4–7 R E geocentric distance have been investigated in a statistical study, using data from the Cluster satellites. The orbit of the Cluster satellites limits the data collection at these altitudes to high latitudes, including the poleward part of the auroral oval. The occurrence and distribution of the selected events have been used to characterize the intense electric fields and to investigate their dependance on parameters such as MLT, CGLat, altitude, and also K p . Peaks in the local time distribution are found in the evening to morning sectors but also in the noon sector, corresponding to cusp events. The electric field intensities decrease with increasing latitude in the region investigated (above 60 CGLat). A dependence on geomagnetic activity is indicated since the probability of finding an event increases up to K p =5–6. The scales sizes are in the range up to 10 km (mapped to ionospheric altitude) with a maximum around 4–5km, consistent with earlier findings at lower altitudes and Cluster event studies. The magnitudes of the electric fields are inversely proportional to the scale sizes. The type of electric field structure (convergent or divergent) is consistent with the FAC direction for a subset of events with electric field intensities in the range 500–1000 mV/m and with clear bipolar signatures. The FAC directions are also consistent with the Region 1 and NBZ current systems, the latter of which prevail only during northward IMF conditions. For scale sizes less than 2 km the majority of the events were divergent electric field structures. Both converging and diverging electric fields were found throughout the investigated altitude range (4–7 R E geocentric distance). Keywords. Magnetospheric physics (Electric fields; Auroral phenomena; Magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions)