Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding the materiality of writing from multiple sources

Abstract Writing research has typically focussed on the text production elements of writing. Many everyday writing tasks, however, cannot be characterized simply in terms of text production since they often involve the use of source materials to support the composition process. As such, these tasks are better thought of as hybrid tasks. Such hybrid tasks have been given relatively little attention in the literature and what little work has been done has taken a purely cognitive approach that downplays the material context within which the task takes place. Following Haas' critique of mainstream writing research which advocated the need to consider the material tools and artefacts in theories of writing, this paper takes a similar approach in relation to the hybrid tasks of writing while reading from multiple sources. A study is presented that explores a range of everyday writing from multiple sources in their real-world contexts. The study highlights a number of important characteristics of the interaction with the material artefacts used during these tasks and the impact that these have on the underlying cognitive processes. The hope is that these will begin to offer some grounding on which future theoretical understanding of these hybrid tasks can build, as well as providing useful insights into the design of technologies to support these tasks.
Software Framework for Topic Modelling with Large Corpora

Large corpora are ubiquitous in today's world and memory quickly becomes the limiting factor in practical applications of the Vector Space Model (VSM). We identify gap in existing VSM implementations, which is their scalability and ease of use. We describe a Natural Language Processing software framework which is based on the idea of document streaming, i.e. processing corpora document after document, in a memory independent fashion. In this framework, we implement several popular algorithms for topical inference, including Latent Semantic Analysis and Latent Dirichlet Allocation, in a way that makes them completely independent of the training corpus size. Particular emphasis is placed on straightforward and intuitive framework design, so that modifications and extensions of the methods and/or their application by interested practitioners are effortless. We demonstrate the usefulness of our approach on a real-world scenario of computing document similarities within an existing digital library DML-CZ.
Hypoxia-ischemia and retinal ganglion cell damage

Retinal hypoxia is the potentially blinding mechanism underlying a number of sight-threatening disorders including central retinal artery occlusion, ischemic central retinal vein thrombosis, complications of diabetic eye disease and some types of glaucoma. Hypoxia is implicated in loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) occurring in such conditions. RGC death occurs by apoptosis or necrosis. Hypoxia-ischemia induces the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α and its target genes such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Increased production of VEGF results in disruption of the blood retinal barrier leading to retinal edema. Enhanced expression of NOS results in increased production of nitric oxide which may be toxic to the cells resulting in their death. Excess glutamate release in hypoxic-ischemic conditions causes excitotoxic damage to the RGCs through activation of ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors. Activation of glutamate receptors is thought to initiate damage in the retina by a cascade of biochemical effects such as neuronal NOS activation and increase in intracellular Ca2+ which has been described as a major contributing factor to RGC loss. Excess production of proinflammatory cytokines also mediates cell damage. Besides the above, free-radicals generated in hypoxic-ischemic conditions result in RGC loss because of an imbalance between antioxidant- and oxidant-generating systems. Although many advances have been made in understanding the mediators and mechanisms of injury, strategies to improve the damage are lacking. Measures to prevent neuronal injury have to be developed.
Associations between Inadequate Parenting Practices and Behavioral Problems in Children and Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Children and adolescents with ADHD present behaviors such as impulsiveness, inattention, and difficulties with personal organization that represent an overload for parents. Moreover, it also increases their level of stress and leads them to resort to inadequate educational strategies. The present study verifies associations between inadequate parenting practices and behavioral profiles of children and adolescents with ADHD. The sample was composed of 22 children with ADHD (age range 6–16 years) and their mothers. Spearman correlation analyses were made with the scores of Parenting Style Inventory (PSI) and Child Behavior Checklist for ages 6–18 (CBCL/6–18). Results indicate statistically significant associations between behavioral problems and the use of punishment practices and negligence. When assessing a child with ADHD, it is important to verify the predominant types of parenting practices that can influence both immediate interventions and the prognosis of the disorder.
Intertwining courses of functional status and subjective health among older Japanese.

OBJECTIVES We sought to depict how trajectories of functional status are related to the average changes in self-rated health and its underlying trajectories. METHODS Data came from a five-wave panel study of a national sample of 2,200 Japanese older adults between 1987 and 1999. We employed hierarchical linear models and multinomial logistic regression to depict the interrelationships among patterns of temporal change in functional status and self-rated health. RESULTS Trajectories of functional status were associated with the average age-related changes in subjective health (i.e., linear and nonlinear slopes). Furthermore, there were significant correlations between the courses of functional health and those of self-rated health. Finally, recovery from poor self-rated health was characterized by having poor health and functional ability at baseline. DISCUSSION Researchers can generalize prior observations of the association between functional status and subjective health at one or more points in time to their long-term trajectories. These findings provide further insights into understanding the dynamics between two key dimensions of health among older adults in Japan.
Photometric studies of three multiperiodic β Cephei stars: β CMa, 15 CMa and KZ Mus

We have carried out single and multisite photometry of the three β Cephei stars β and 15 CMa as well as KZ Mus. For the two stars in CMa, we obtained 270 h of measurement in the Stromgren uvy and Johnson V filters, while 150 h of time-resolved Stromgren uvy photometry was acquired for KZ Mus. All three stars are multiperiodic variables, with three (β CMa) and four (15 CMa, KZ Mus) independent pulsation modes. Two of the mode frequencies of 15 CMa are new discoveries and one of the known modes showed amplitude variations over the last 33 yr. Taken together, this fully explains the diverse behaviour of the star reported in the literature. Mode identification by means of the amplitude ratios in the different passbands suggests one radial mode for each star. In addition, β CMa has a dominant l= 2 mode while its third mode is non-radial with unknown l. The non-radial modes of 15 CMa, which are l≤ 3, form an almost equally split triplet that, if physical, would imply that we see the star under an inclination angle larger than 55°. The strongest non-radial mode of KZ Mus is l= 2, followed by the radial mode and a dipole mode. Its weakest known mode is non-radial with unknown l, confirming previous mode identifications for the pulsations of the star. The phased light curve for the strongest mode of 15 CMa has a descending branch steeper than the rising branch. A stillstand phenomenon during the rise to maximum light is indicated. Given the low photometric amplitude of this non-radial mode this is at first sight surprising, but it can be explained by the aspect angle of the mode.
DSPs, BRAMs, and a Pinch of Logic: Extended Recipes for AES on FPGAs

We present three lookup-table-based AES implementations that efficiently use the BlockRAM and DSP units embedded within Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGAs. An iterative module outputs a 32-bit AES round column every clock cycle, with a throughput of 1.67 Gbit/s when processing two 128-bit inputs. This construct is then replicated four times to provide a complete AES round per cycle with 6.7 Gbit/s throughput when processing eight input streams. This, in turn, is replicated ten times for a fully unrolled design providing over 52 Gbit/s of throughput. We also present implementations of a BRAM-based AES key-expansion, CMAC, and CTR modes of operation. Results for designs where DSPs are replaced by regular logic are also presented. The combination and arrangement of the specialized embedded functions available in the FPGA allows us to implement our designs using very few traditional user logic elements such as flip-flops and lookup tables, yet still achieve these high throughputs. HDL source code, simulation testbenches, and software tool commands to reproduce reported results for the three AES variants and CMAC mode are made publicly available. Our contribution concludes with a discussion on comparing cipher implementations in the literature, and why these comparisons can be meaningless without a common reporting methodology, or within the context of a constrained target application.
An Electronic Circuit System for Time-Reversal of Ultra-Wideband Short Impulses Based on Frequency-Domain Approach

In this paper, a compact and low-cost electronic circuit system is designed for time-reversal of ultra-wideband short impulses (with nanosecond and sub-nanosecond temporal durations). A frequency-domain approach is adopted to avoid high sampling rate in time. Specifically, the proposed system obtains the discrete spectra of input impulses first; then realizes time-reversal in frequency domain; and finally synthesizes the time-reversed impulses using discrete continuous wave elements. This system is composed of common and commercially available circuits, and hence, can embody a system-on-chip implementation. Its performance is verified by circuit-electromagnetic co-simulations using impulses with 3-10-GHz frequency band coverage. Advanced Design System and two full-wave Maxwell's equations solvers are used for circuit and electromagnetic simulations, respectively, and their results are coupled and integrated. In the circuit part, most of nonidealities of realistic circuits are taken into account. It is shown by the simulation results that, although realistic circuits unavoidably introduce errors to time-reversal, such errors do not affect the ¿focusing¿ phenomena in the context of electromagnetic wave propagation. As a conclusion, the proposed system can be deployed in practical time-reversal communication and radar applications.
Vehicle tracking with lane assignment by camera and lidar sensor fusion

A multi-sensor system for vehicle tracking and lane detection is presented in this contribution. The system utilizes a lidar and a monocular camera sensor. The main focus for the lidar lies in the field of vehicle detection and the camera is initially used for lane detection. Therewith realized and introduced applications onto the market are driver assistance systems for adaptive cruise control (ACC) and lane departure warning (LDW). More sophisticated ACC functionalities like collision mitigation and collision avoidance systems require a higher reliability and accuracy of the environment recognition. The joint use of both sensors facilitates this without additional expenses for hardware. It exploits the advantages of the different sensor concepts to extend the capabilities for interpretation of the vehicle environment. In our case this ensures a more accurate estimation of the dimensions and positions of the vehicles within the lane respectively the entire road. Finally, we present an innovative human machine interface (HMI) solution to display the desired assistance functionality with high transparency and clarity to the driver.
Contribution of Psychosocial Factors to the Association between Socioeconomic Position and Takeaway Food Consumption

Objective To examine whether psychosocial factors mediate (explain) the association between socioeconomic position and takeaway food consumption. Design A cross-sectional postal survey conducted in 2009. Setting Participants reported their usual consumption of 22 takeaway food items, and these were grouped into a “healthy” and “less healthy” index based on each items' nutritional properties. Principal Components Analysis was used to derive three psychosocial scales that measured beliefs about the relationship between diet and health (α = 0.73), and perceptions about the value (α = 0.79) and pleasure (α = 0.61) of takeaway food. A nutrition knowledge index was also used. Socioeconomic position was measured by highest attained education level. Subjects Randomly selected adults (n = 1,500) aged between 25–64 years in Brisbane, Australia (response rate = 63.7%, N = 903). Results Compared with those with a bachelor degree or higher, participants with a diploma level of education were more likely to consume “healthy” takeaway food (p = 0.023) whereas the least educated (high school only) were more likely to consume “less healthy” choices (p = 0.002). The least educated were less likely to believe in a relationship between diet and health (p<0.001), and more likely to have lower nutritional knowledge compared with their highly educated counterparts (p<0.001). Education differences in beliefs about the relationship between diet and health partly and significantly mediated the association between education and “healthy” takeaway food consumption. Diet- and health-related beliefs and nutritional knowledge partly and significantly mediated the education differences in “less healthy” takeaway food consumption. Conclusions Interventions that target beliefs about the relationship between diet and health, and nutritional knowledge may reduce socioeconomic differences in takeaway food consumption, particularly for “less healthy” options.
Regression Discontinuity Designs with an Endogenous Forcing Variable and an Application to Contracting in Health Care

Regression discontinuity designs (RDDs) are a popular method to estimate treatment effects. However, RDDs may fail to yield consistent estimates if the forcing variable can be manipulated by the agent. In this paper, we examine one interesting set of economic models with such a feature. Specifically, we examine the case where there is a structural relationship between the forcing variable and the outcome variable because they are determined simultaneously. We propose a modi.ed RDD estimator for such models and derive the conditions under which it is consistent. As an application of our method, we study contracts between a large managed care organization and leading hospitals for the provision of organ and tissue transplants. Exploiting "donut holes" in the reimbursement contracts we estimate how the total claims filed by the hospitals depend on the generosity of the reimbursement structure. Our results show that hospitals submit significantly larger bills when the reimbursement rate is higher, indicating informational asymmetries between the payer and hospitals in this market.
The Shadow Economies in Middle and South America and their Influence on the Official Economy: What do we know?

Using the DYMIMIC and currency demand approach, the size and development of the shadow economies of 21 Middle and South American countries (including Columbia) are estimated. Averaging the figures over all 21 countries the shadow economy increased from 41.1% in 1999/2000 to 43.4% in 2002/03 and since then declined to 42.2% of official GDP in 2004/05. The most important factors driving the shadow economy are indirect taxation, regulation and the unemployment quota. Analyzing the interaction between shadow and official economy in Columbia, the shadow economy has a positive effect on the official one. The Columbian average growth rate of real per capita GDP is 1.11% between 1976 and 2002 and the shadow economy “explains” on average between
Targeted placental deletion of OGT recapitulates the prenatal stress phenotype including hypothalamic mitochondrial dysfunction

Significance Early prenatal stress (EPS), a key risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders, produces a marked reduction in O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) in male placental tissue. In our current work, we determined that a targeted reduction of placental OGT recapitulates key features of EPS, including hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal stress axis dysregulation, reduced postpubertal growth, and hypothalamic mitochondrial dysfunction. These results confirm that OGT serves as a key placental biomarker and functions as an important mediator of the maternal changes occurring in response to stress. Maternal stress is a key risk factor in neurodevelopmental disorders, which often have a sex bias in severity and prevalence. We previously identified O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) as a placental biomarker in our mouse model of early prenatal stress (EPS), where OGT levels were lower in male compared with female tissue and were further decreased following maternal stress. However, the function of placental OGT in programming the developing brain has not been determined. Therefore, we generated a transgenic mouse with targeted placental disruption of Ogt (Pl-OGT) and examined offspring for recapitulation of the adult EPS phenotype. Pl-OGT hemizygous and EPS male placentas showed similar robust changes in gene expression patterns suggestive of an altered ability to respond to endocrine and inflammatory signals, supporting placental OGT as an important mediator of EPS effects. ChIP-Seq for the O-GlcNAc mark identified the 17 beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-3 (Hsd17b3) locus in male EPS placentas, which correlated with a reduction in Hsd17b3 expression and concordant reduced testosterone conversion. Remarkably, Pl-OGT adult offspring had reduced body weights and elevated hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal stress axis responsivity, recapitulating phenotypes previously reported for EPS males. Further, hypothalamic microarray gene-set enrichment analyses identified reduced mitochondrial function in both Pl-OGT and EPS males. Cytochrome c oxidase activity assays verified this finding, linking reduced placental OGT with critical brain programming. Together, these studies confirm OGT as in important placental biomarker of maternal stress and demonstrate the profound impact a single placental gene has on long-term metabolic and neurodevelopmental programming that may be related to an increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders.
Flight performance of western sandpipers, Calidris mauri, remains uncompromised when mounting an acute phase immune response

SUMMARY Migratory birds have been implicated in the spread of some zoonotic diseases, but how well infected individuals can fly remains poorly understood. We used western sandpipers, Calidris mauri, to experimentally test whether flight is affected when long-distance migrants are mounting an immune response and whether migrants maintain immune defences during a flight in a wind tunnel. We measured five indicators of innate immunity in ‘flown-healthy’ birds (flying in a wind tunnel without mounting an immune response), ‘flown-sick’ birds (flying while mounting an acute phase response, which is part of induced innate immunity), and a non-flying control group (‘not-flown’). Voluntary flight duration did not differ between flown-healthy and flown-sick birds, indicating that mounting an acute phase response to simulated infection did not hamper an individual's ability to fly for up to 3 h. However, in comparison to not-flown birds, bacterial killing ability of plasma was significantly reduced after flight in flown-sick birds. In flown-healthy birds, voluntary flight duration was positively correlated with bacterial killing ability and baseline haptoglobin concentration of the blood plasma measured 1–3 weeks before experimental flights, suggesting that high quality birds had strong immune systems and greater flight capacity. Our findings indicate that flight performance is not diminished by prior immune challenge, but that flight while mounting an acute phase response negatively affects other aspects of immune function. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the transmission of avian diseases, as they suggest that birds can still migrate while fighting an infection.
Intracellular calcium and calmodulin link brain‐derived neurotrophic factor to p70S6 kinase phosphorylation and dendritic protein synthesis

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/p70S6 kinase (S6K) pathway plays an important role in brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)‐mediated protein synthesis and neuroplasticity. Although many aspects of neuronal function are regulated by intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) and calmodulin (CaM), their functions in BDNF‐induced phosphorylation of p70S6K and protein synthesis are largely unknown. Here, we report that BDNF, via TrkB‐dependent activation of mTOR, induces sustained phosphorylation of p70S6K at Thr389 and Thr421/Ser424. BDNF‐induced phosphorylation at Thr389 was dependent on PI3 kinase but independent of ERK‐MAPK. The previously identified MAPK phosphorylation site at Thr421/Ser424 required both PI3K and MAPK in BDNF‐stimulated neurons. Furthermore, we found that the reduction in [Ca2+]i, but not extracellular calcium, blocked the BDNF‐induced phosphorylation of p70S6K at both sites. Inhibition of CaM by W13 also blocked p70S6K phosphorylation. In correlation, W13 inhibited BDNF‐induced local dendritic protein synthesis. Interestingly, sustained elevation of [Ca2+]i by membrane depolarization antagonized the BDNF‐induced p70S6K phosphorylation. Finally, the BDNF‐induced p70S6K phosphorylation did not require the increase of calcium level through either extracellular influx or PLC‐mediated intracellular calcium release. Collectively, these results indicate that the basal level of intracellular calcium gates BDNF‐induced activation of p70S6K and protein synthesis through CaM. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Productivity and Subsidies in the European Union: An Analysis for Dairy Farms Using Input Distance Frontiers

This paper examines the association between agricultural subsidies and farm efficiency using data from the European Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) for operations specializing on dairy. The analysis covers the 18 year period going from 1990 to 2007 and includes eleven countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Separate translog stochastic input distance frontiers are estimated for each country. Results show high technical efficiency averages and positive average rates of technological change. In addition, higher subsidy dependence and larger size are significantly associated with lower technical efficiency across all eleven countries.