Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research in Developmental Disabilities hy are they late ? Timing abilities and executive control mong students with learning disabilities

While a deficient ability to perform daily tasks on time has been reported among students with learning disabilities (LD), the underlying mechanism behind their ‘being late’ is still unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the organization in time, time estimation abilities, actual performance time pertaining to specific daily activities, as well as the executive functions of students with LD in comparison to those of controls, and to assess the relationships between these domains among each group. The participants were 27 students with LD, aged 20–30, and 32 gender and age-matched controls who completed the Time Organization and Participation Scale (TOPS) and the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult version (BRIEF-A). In addition, their ability to estimate the time needed to complete the task of preparing a cup of coffee as well as their actual performance time were evaluated. The results indicated that in comparison to controls, students with LD showed significantly inferior organization in time (TOPS) and executive function abilities (BRIEF-A). Furthermore, their time estimation abilities were significantly inferior and they required significantly more time to prepare a cup of coffee. Regression analysis identified the variables that predicted organization in time and task performance time among each group. The significance of the results for both theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. What this paper adds? This study examines the underlying mechanism of the phenomena of being late among students with LD. Following a recent call for using ecologically valid assessments, the functional daily ability of students with LD to prepare a cup of coffee and to organize time were investigated. Furthermore, their time estimation and executive control abilities were examined as a possible underlying mechanism for their lateness. Although previous studies have indicated executive control deficits among students with LD, to our knowledge, this is the first analysis of the relationships between their executive control and time estimation deficits and their influence upon their daily function and organization in time abilities. Our findings demonstrate that students with LD ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: nufarlev@gmail.com (N. Grinblat), rosens@univ.haifa. ac.il (S. Rosenblum). http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.ridd. 2016.07. 012 891-4222/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 106 N. Grinblat, S. Rosenblum / Research in Developmental Disabilities 59 (2016) 105–114 need more time in order to execute simple daily activities, such as preparing a cup of coffee. Deficient working memory, retrospective time estimation ability and inhibition predicted their performance time and organization in time abilities. Therefore, this paper sheds light on the mechanism behind daily performance in time among students with LD and emphasizes the need for future development of focused intervention programs to meet their unique needs. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Measuring Recurrence of Marine Biotic Gradients: A Case Study from the Pennsylvanian-Permian Midcontinent

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine whether biotic associations of Pennsylvanian-Permian brachiopods and bivalves from the northern Midcontinent differ in their degree of recurrence through time. The study interval includes 2.5 Myr that can be divided into 5 full and 2 partial composite depositional sequences separated by subaerial unconformities. These stratigraphic packages represent replicate natural experiments in establishing the benthic marine ecosystem of the basin. Based on cluster and ordination analyses, two discrete biofacies can be recognized—one dominated by brachiopods and the other by bivalves. Within each of these, environmental gradients can be recognized. The brachiopod gradient is interpreted to reflect the degree of water-column oxygenation, whereas the bivalve gradient is interpreted to reflect the transition from restricted to open-marine conditions. Comparison of measured recurrence with randomized data indicates that the ecological segregation of the two biofacies is maintained to a significant degree through the succession of depositional sequences in the study interval. In contrast, the gradients within each biofacies, although recognizable, are not maintained rigidly from sequence to sequence. There is also no significant difference in gradient recurrence between the two biofacies. These results imply that there is no need to call upon strong interspecific interactions to maintain the structure of these paleocommunities through time.
Global finite-time stabilisation for a class of stochastic nonlinear systems by output feedback

In this paper, the problem of global finite-time stabilisation by output feedback is considered for a class of stochastic nonlinear systems. First, based on homogeneous systems theory and the adding a power integrator technique, a homogeneous reduced order observer and control law are constructed in a recursive manner for the nominal system. Then, the homogeneous domination approach is used to deal with the nonlinearities in drift and diffusion terms; it is shown that the proposed output-feedback control law can guarantee that the closed-loop system is global finite-time stable in probability. Finally, simulation examples are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.
Patterns of smoking in Russia

BACKGROUND Tobacco is a leading cause of avoidable death in Russia but there is, as yet, relatively little information in the public domain on who is smoking and how this is changing. This information is important for those seeking to develop effective policies to tackle this issue. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of smoking in Russia and its association with sociodemographic factors. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey on patterns of tobacco consumption. SETTING Data were collected using the New Russia Barometer, a multi-stage stratified-sample survey of the population of the Russian Federation undertaken in the summer of 1996. PARTICIPANTS Data were available on 1587 individuals (response rate 65.7%). Respondents differed little from the overall Russian population in terms of age, sex, education, and voting intention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Prevalence of current and past smoking. RESULTS Smoking is common among males of all ages and in all areas. Of those aged 18–24 years, 65% smoke, rising to 73% in those aged 25–34 and then falling steadily to reach 41% in those aged 65 and older. Among women, smoking is much more common among the young (27% in those aged 18–34) than among the middle-aged and elderly (5% in those aged 55 and older), and more common among those living in urban areas than in rural areas. Smoking is also more common among men and women suffering material deprivation but there is no independent association with education. Among men, but not women, church attendance is inversely associated with smoking. In both sexes, but especially women, heavy drinking and smoking are associated. CONCLUSIONS Tobacco poses a major threat to the health of future generations in Russia, especially among women. A robust policy response is required.
How does introducing a cost of advertising affect the market ?

We use a laboratory experiment to study advertising and pricing behavior in a market where consumers differ in price sensitivity. Equilibrium in this market entails variation in the number of firms advertising and price dispersion in advertised prices. We vary the cost to advertise as well as varying the number of competing firms. Theory predicts that advertising costs act as a facilitating device: higher costs increase firm profits at the expense of consumers. We find that higher advertising costs decrease demand for advertising and raise advertised prices, as predicted. Further, this comes at the expense of consumers. However, pricing and advertising strategies are more aggressive than theory predicts with the result that firm profits do not increase.
Fluorescence emission induced by extensive air showers in dependence on atmospheric conditions

Charged particles of extensive air show- ers (EAS), mainly electrons and positrons, initiate the emission of fluorescence light in the Earth's atmosphere. This light provides a calorimetric mea- surement of the energy of cosmic rays. For recon- structing the primary energy from an observed light track of an EAS, the fluorescence yield in air has to be known in dependence on atmospheric conditions, like air temperature, pressure, and humidity. Several experiments on fluorescence emission have published various sets of data covering different parts of the dependence of the fluorescence yield on atmospheric conditions. Using a compilation of published measurements, a calculation of the fluorescence yield in dependence on altitude is presented. The fluorescence calculation is applied to simulated air showers and different atmospheric profiles to estimate the influence of the atmospheric conditions on the reconstructed shower parameters.
Eutrophication and the rate of denitrification and N20 production in coastal marine sediments

Large (13 m/sup 3/, 5 m deep) microcosms with coupled pelagic and benthic components were used to measure the effect of nutrient loading and eutrophication in coastal marine ecosystems on the rates of benthic denitrification (N/sub 2/) and N/sub 2/O production. After 3 months or daily nutrient addition, average denitrification rates ranged from about 300 . mu.mol N m/sup -2/ h/sup -1/ in the sediments of the control microcosm to 880 in the most enriched microcosm, which received 65 times the nutrient input of the control. Increases in the production of N/sub 2/O were more dramatic and increased by a factor of about 100, from 0.56 . mu.mol N m/sup -2/ h/sup -1/ in the control to 51 in the most enriched microcosm. Although there was a clear increase in the denitrification rate in the more eutrophic systems, the amount of fixed nitrogen removed was a constant or progressively smaller fraction of the nitrogen input. Even in the most enriched microcosm, at least 16% of the N input was removed by denitrification.
Improving verb anomia in the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia: the effectiveness of a semantic-phonological cueing treatment

The semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) is known to affect the comprehension and production of all content words, including verbs. However, studies of the treatment of anomia in this disorder focused on relearning object names only. This study reports treatment of verb anomia in an individual with svPPA. The semantic-phonological cueing therapy resulted in significant improvement in naming abilities, for treated verbs only. This case study demonstrates that improvement in verb-naming abilities may be possible in svPPA. The almost complete maintenance of the treatment’s effects in the patient 4 weeks after the end of the therapy also suggests improvements may be durable, at least in the short term, for some individuals with svPPA.
Assessment of the Incremental Benefit of Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) for Interpretation of CT Colonography by Experienced and Inexperienced Readers

Objectives To quantify the incremental benefit of computer-assisted-detection (CAD) for polyps, for inexperienced readers versus experienced readers of CT colonography. Methods 10 inexperienced and 16 experienced radiologists interpreted 102 colonography studies unassisted and with CAD utilised in a concurrent paradigm. They indicated any polyps detected on a study sheet. Readers’ interpretations were compared against a ground-truth reference standard: 46 studies were normal and 56 had at least one polyp (132 polyps in total). The primary study outcome was the difference in CAD net benefit (a combination of change in sensitivity and change in specificity with CAD, weighted towards sensitivity) for detection of patients with polyps. Results Inexperienced readers’ per-patient sensitivity rose from 39.1% to 53.2% with CAD and specificity fell from 94.1% to 88.0%, both statistically significant. Experienced readers’ sensitivity rose from 57.5% to 62.1% and specificity fell from 91.0% to 88.3%, both non-significant. Net benefit with CAD assistance was significant for inexperienced readers but not for experienced readers: 11.2% (95%CI 3.1% to 18.9%) versus 3.2% (95%CI -1.9% to 8.3%) respectively. Conclusions Concurrent CAD resulted in a significant net benefit when used by inexperienced readers to identify patients with polyps by CT colonography. The net benefit was nearly four times the magnitude of that observed for experienced readers. Experienced readers did not benefit significantly from concurrent CAD.
An efficient ontology comparison tool for semantic Web applications

With the growing access to heterogeneous and independent data repositories, determining the semantic difference of two ontologies is critical in information retrieval, information integration and semantic web applications. In this paper, we propose an ontology comparison tool based on a novel senses refinement algorithm, which builds a senses set to accurately represent the semantics of the input ontology. The senses refinement algorithm automatically extracts senses from the electronic lexical database WordNet (locally installed or online), removes unnecessary senses based on the relationship among the entity classes of the ontology, and specifies relations and constraints of the concepts in the refined senses set. The senses refinement converts the measurement of ontology difference into simple set operations based on set theory, thus ensures the efficiency and accuracy of the ontology comparison. Our experimental studies show that the proposed senses refinement algorithm outperforms the naive senses set construction algorithm in terms of efficiency and accuracy.
Uncovering Patterns of Inter-Urban Trip and Spatial Interaction from Social Media Check-In Data

The article revisits spatial interaction and distance decay from the perspective of human mobility patterns and spatially-embedded networks based on an empirical data set. We extract nationwide inter-urban movements in China from a check-in data set that covers half a million individuals within 370 cities to analyze the underlying patterns of trips and spatial interactions. By fitting the gravity model, we find that the observed spatial interactions are governed by a power law distance decay effect. The obtained gravity model also closely reproduces the exponential trip displacement distribution. The movement of an individual, however, may not obey the same distance decay effect, leading to an ecological fallacy. We also construct a spatial network where the edge weights denote the interaction strengths. The communities detected from the network are spatially cohesive and roughly consistent with province boundaries. We attribute this pattern to different distance decay parameters between intra-province and inter-province trips.
Comparative effectiveness of standard versus patient-centered collaborative care interventions for depression among African Americans in primary care settings: the BRIDGE Study.

OBJECTIVE To compare the effectiveness of standard and patient-centered, culturally tailored collaborative care (CC) interventions for African American patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) over 12 months of follow-up. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING Twenty-seven primary care clinicians and 132 African American patients with MDD in urban community-based practices in Maryland and Delaware. STUDY DESIGN Cluster randomized trial with patient-level, intent-to-treat analyses. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS Patients completed screener and baseline, 6-, 12-, and 18-month interviews to assess depression severity, mental health functioning, health service utilization, and patient ratings of care. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Patients in both interventions showed statistically significant improvements over 12 months. Compared with standard, patient-centered CC patients had similar reductions in depression symptom levels (-2.41 points; 95 percent confidence interval (CI), -7.7, 2.9), improvement in mental health functioning scores (+3.0 points; 95 percent CI, -2.2, 8.3), and odds of rating their clinician as participatory (OR, 1.48, 95 percent CI, 0.53, 4.17). Treatment rates increased among standard (OR = 1.8, 95 percent CI 1.0, 3.2), but not patient-centered (OR = 1.0, 95 percent CI 0.6, 1.8) CC patients. However, patient-centered CC patients rated their care manager as more helpful at identifying their concerns (OR, 3.00; 95 percent CI, 1.23, 7.30) and helping them adhere to treatment (OR, 2.60; 95 percent CI, 1.11, 6.08). CONCLUSIONS Patient-centered and standard CC approaches to depression care showed similar improvements in clinical outcomes for African Americans with depression; standard CC resulted in higher rates of treatment, and patient-centered CC resulted in better ratings of care.
Quantum Measurements, Stochastic Networks, the Uncertainty Principle, and the Not So Strange “Weak Values”

Suppose we make a series of measurements on a chosen quantum system. The outcomes of the measurements form a sequence of random events, which occur in a particular order. The system, together with a meter or meters, can be seen as following the paths of a stochastic network connecting all possible outcomes. The paths are shaped from the virtual paths of the system, and the corresponding probabilities are determined by the measuring devices employed. If the measurements are highly accurate, the virtual paths become “real”, and the mean values of a quantity (a functional) are directly related to the frequencies with which the paths are traveled. If the measurements are highly inaccurate, the mean (weak) values are expressed in terms of the relative probabilities’ amplitudes. For pre- and post-selected systems they are bound to take arbitrary values, depending on the chosen transition. This is a direct consequence of the uncertainty principle, which forbids one from distinguishing between interfering alternatives, while leaving the interference between them intact.
A Seed-Centric Community Detection Algorithm based on an Expanding Ring Search

One common problem in viral marketing, counter-terrorism and epidemic modeling is the efficient detection of a community that is centered at an individual of interest. Most community detection algorithms are designed to detect all communities in the entire network. As such, it would be computationally intensive to first detect all communities followed by identifying communities where the individual of interest belongs to, especially for large scale networks. We propose a community detection algorithm that directly detects the community centered at an individual of interest, without the need to first detect all communities. Our proposed algorithm utilizes an expanding ring search starting from the individual of interest as the seed user. Following which, we iteratively include users at increasing number of hops from the seed user, based on our definition of a community. This iterative step continues until no further users can be added, thus resulting in the detected community comprising the list of added users. We evaluate our algorithm on four social network datasets and show that our algorithm is able to detect communities that strongly resemble the corresponding real-life communities.
Friedreich's disease

Friedreich's disease (FD) obligate heterozygotes have reduced mitochondrial malic enzyme (MEm) activity in cultured fibroblasts. This indicates that the MEm deficiency in homozygous affected patients is genetically determined. Heterozygote MEm activity was only 20% of the control mean activity, lower than the 50% expected in an autosomal-recessive disorder. This may result from negative interactions between mutant and normal subunits in the tetrameric enzyme. These data support the idea that MEm deficiency causes FD, but further studies are required to prove this hypothesis.
Acta of Bioengineering and Biomechanics Vol . 11 , No . 1 , 2009 Estimated ground reaction force in normal and pathological gait S Ł

In clinical gait analysis, ground reaction force (GRF) is the gait parameter which can validate the state of disorder of the patient’s movement. The purpose of this study was to explore the possibilities of employing the GRF derived from kinematics of the center of gravity (COG) in the study of dynamics of human gait. Gait data was collected for healthy able-bodied men and women and patients after ACL reconstruction who use larger lateral COG excursions during gait. Reasonable agreement between methods was found in fore-aft and vertical directions, where the methods differed by an average of less than 10% in either direction. Based on model predictions of the body’s COG trajectory during walking, algorithms were developed to determine spatio-temporal gait parameters related to GRF characteristics. The suitability of calculating ground reaction forces using COG displacement in a patient population is questioned.
Mutually unbiased bases are complex projective 2-designs

Mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) are a primitive used in quantum information processing to capture the principle of complementarity. While constructions of maximal sets of d+1 such bases are known for system of prime power dimension d, it is unknown whether this bound can be achieved for any non-prime power dimension. In this paper we demonstrate that maximal sets of MUBs come with a rich combinatorial structure by showing that they actually are the same objects as the complex projective 2-designs with angle set {0, 1/d}. We also give a new and simple proof that symmetric informationally complete POVMs are complex projective 2-designs with angle set {1/(d+1)}
Proportional rate reduction for TCP

Packet losses increase latency for Web users. Fast recovery is a key mechanism for TCP to recover from packet losses. In this paper, we explore some of the weaknesses of the standard algorithm described in RFC 3517 and the non-standard algorithms implemented in Linux. We find that these algorithms deviate from their intended behavior in the real world due to the combined effect of short flows, application stalls, burst losses, acknowledgment (ACK) loss and reordering, and stretch ACKs. Linux suffers from excessive congestion window reductions while RFC 3517 transmits large bursts under high losses, both of which harm the rest of the flow and increase Web latency. Our primary contribution is a new design to control transmission in fast recovery called proportional rate reduction (PRR). PRR recovers from losses quickly, smoothly and accurately by pacing out retransmissions across received ACKs. In addition to PRR, we evaluate the TCP early retransmit (ER) algorithm which lowers the duplicate acknowledgment threshold for short transfers, and show that delaying early retransmissions for a short interval is effective in avoiding spurious retransmissions in the presence of a small degree of reordering. PRR and ER reduce the TCP latency of connections experiencing losses by 3-10% depending on the response size. Based on our instrumentation on Google Web and YouTube servers in U.S. and India, we also present key statistics on the nature of TCP retransmissions.