Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
When Things Are Better or Worse than Expected: The Medial Frontal Cortex and the Allocation of Processing Resources

Access to limited-capacity neural systems of cognitive control must be restricted to the most relevant information. How the brain identifies and selects items for preferential processing is not fully understood. Anatomical models often place the selection mechanism in the medial frontal cortex (MFC), and one computational model proposes that the mesotelencephalic dopamine (DA) system, via its reward prediction properties, provides a gate through which information gains access to limited-capacity systems. There is a medial frontal event-related potential (ERP) index of attention selection, the anterior positivity (P2a), associated with DA reward system input to the MFC for the identification of task-relevant perceptual representations. The P2a has a similar spatio-temporal distribution as the medial frontal negativity (MFN), elicited to error responses or choices resulting in monetary loss. The MFN has also been linked to DA projections to the MFC but for action monitoring rather than attention selection. This study proposes that the P2a and the MFN reflect the same MFC evaluation function and use a passive reward prediction design containing neither instructed attention nor response to demonstrate that the ERP over medial frontal leads at the P2a/MFN latency is consistent with activity of midbrain DA neurons, positive to unpredicted rewards and negative when a predicted reward is withheld. This result suggests that MFC activity is regulated by DA reward system input and may function to identify items or actions that exceed or fail to meet motivational prediction.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Nan Zhou City University of Hong Kong CONFIDENCE IN BRAND ORIGIN AND ITS STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS : EVIDENCE FROM A DEVELOPING MARKT

Although consumers in emerging markets continue to exhibit a strong preference for nonlocal brands from developed countries due to their perceived high quality and symbolic image (Batra et al., 2000; Steenkamp et al., 2002; Wang, Siu & Hui, 2004; Zhou & Hui, 2003), the performance of these brands has been mixed. In general, the relative market position of foreign brands is declining, and the advance of foreign brands in certain markets has halted, if not reversed (Keller & Moorthi, 2003; Roberts, 1997). This trend seems to be particularly obvious in China, one of the largest and most lucrative developing markets in the world, where consumers are already showing a tendency to move away from foreign brands in favor of local offerings in many product categories (China Business Times, 1999; Cui, 1997; Rheem, 1996; Zhou & Hui, 2003).
Publication Bias in Measuring Intertemporal Substitution

I examine 2,735 estimates of the elasticity of intertemporal substitution in consumption (EIS) reported in 169 published studies. The literature shows strong publication bias: researchers report negative and insignificant estimates less often than they should, which pulls the mean estimate up by about 0.5. When I correct the mean for the bias, for macro estimates I get zero, even though the reported t - statistics are on average two. The corrected mean of micro estimates for asset holders is around 0.3–0.4. Calibrations of the EIS greater than 0.8 are inconsistent with the bulk of the empirical evidence.
Enhanced Customer Churn Prediction using Social Network Analysis

There were 6.8 billion estimates for mobile subscriptions worldwide by end of 2013 [11]. As the mobile market gets saturated, it becomes harder for telecom providers to acquire new customers, and makes it essential for them to retain their own. Due to the high competition between different telecom providers and the ability of customers to move from one provider to another, all telecom service providers suffer from customer churn. As a result, churn prediction has become one of the main telecom challenges. The primary goal of churn prediction is to predict a list of potential churners, so that telecom providers can start targeting them by retention campaigns. This work describes work in progress in which we model churn as a dyadic social behavior, where customer churn propagates in the telecom network over strong social ties. We propose a novel method for measuring social tie strength between telecom customers. We then, incorporate strong social ties in an influence propagation model, and apply a machine-learning based prediction model that combines both churn social influence and other traditional churn factors. The goals of our proposed model is to enhance churn prediction by modeling churn as a dyadic phenomena, provide an enhanced evaluation for the social tie strength based on customers social interactions, and to study the effect of strong social ties on churn propagation over mobile telecom networks.
Do Fixed Exchange Rates Inhibit Macroeconomic Adjustments

This paper takes issue with the proposition that a fixed exchange rate regime reduces the ability of the economy to adjust to outside macroeconomic shocks, even in a world where prices are sticky. We construct a model where a very small economy interacts with a large world economy, and must choose an exchange rate policy to deal with macro shocks coming from the rest of the world. We show that there is in fact no trade-off between exchange rate flexibility and output volatility. In fact, in face of monetary disturbances coming from the rest of the world, output volatility is lower under fixed exchange rates than under floating exchange rates.
Election trolling: analyzing sentiment in tweets during pakistan elections 2013

The use of Twitter as a discussion platform for political issues has led researchers to study its role in predicting election outcomes. This work studies a much neglected aspect of politics on Twitter namely "election trolling" whereby supporters of different political parties attack each other during election campaigns. We also propose a novel strategy to detect terms that are usually not associated with sentiment but are introduced by supporters of political parties to attack the opposing party. We demonstrate a lack of political maturity as evidenced through high percentage of political attacks in a developing region such as Pakistan.
Zic1 Promoter Hypermethylation in Plasma DNA Is a Potential Biomarker for Gastric Cancer and Intraepithelial Neoplasia

Gastric cancer (GC) remains one of the most common digestive cancers worldwide; however, most patients present at an advanced stage at initial diagnosis. Zic1 is a novel candidate tumor suppressor gene that is epigenetically silenced in GC. In this study, we investigated Zic1 promoter methylation in plasma DNA as a novel molecular marker for the early diagnosis and monitoring of GC. Methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) assay was performed to detect Zic1 promoter methylation in plasma DNA from 20 healthy subjects, 50 gastric intraepithelial neoplasia patients, and 104 GC patients. The Zic1 promoter methylation rate in the plasma samples from the healthy control group was 0%, but it reached 54.0% in the intraepithelial neoplasia group and 60.6% in the GC group. The latter two values were significantly higher than that found in the healthy control group (p < 0.05), with a 100% specificity for intraepithelial neoplasia and GC diagnosis. The positive predictive value of plasma Zic1 promoter methylation for the diagnosis of intraepithelial neoplasia and GC was 100%. Methylation status in the GC group was not significantly associated with tumor size, tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, TNM staging, or tumor invasion (p > 0.05). Assessment of the significance of detection of the carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA) level and Zic1 promoter methylation rate for GC diagnosis revealed that the sensitivity of Zic1 promoter methylation was significantly higher than that of the CEA level as a marker and that the combined measurement of these two indices (parallel testing) improved sensitivity. Taken together, our results suggest that the Zic1 promoter methylation rate in plasma-derived DNA is of great significance for the early screening of GC and monitoring of tumorigenesis. Zic1 promoter methylation may serve as a novel non-invasive plasma biomarker for the early detection of GC and for risk assessment in high-risk populations. The combined measurement of the Zic1 promoter methylation rate and CEA level (parallel testing) may enhance the current guidelines for the early diagnosis of GC.
Faculty Work: Moving Beyond the Paradox of Autonomy and Collaboration

Freedom to pursue one’s intellectual interests, known as professional autonomy, is a valued and longstanding faculty tradition. Profound changes in society and the academy, however, suggest new values may be emerging. Collaboration, for example, is increasingly vital to success outside of the academy, and faculty culture, long an individualistic domain, may be shifting in response. This multiple case study explores how faculty members experience the relationship between professional autonomy and collaboration within the context of their department work. Faculty members in four departments were interviewed and both qualitative and simple quantitative data collected. The study found faculty members satisfied with the autonomy they experienced. Collaborative practices were evident, though faculty generally expressed a desire for increased collaboration with colleagues. The interviews also suggested attributes of a collaborative department, one in which collaboration is a more intentional element of the unit practice and design. The electronic version of the Dissertation is at the open-access Ohiolink ETD Center, http:www.ohiolink. edu/etd.
Linking pharmacy and laboratory data to assess the appropriateness of care in patients with diabetes.

OBJECTIVE To use pharmacy and laboratory data to assess diabetes care within a medical group and between medical groups and to determine dispensing patterns and the extent to which providers change therapy based on HbA1c results. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Participating groups submitted 1 year of data for continuously enrolled patients. Required data included date of birth, all diabetes-specific prescriptions (oral hypoglycemic agents and insulin), date of prescription, National Drug Code, all HbA1c values, lower and upper normal limits, and date of testing. RESULTS Few changes in therapy were noted despite the large percentages of patients with suboptimal control. Nearly 90% of the patients treated with medications received a monotherapy regimen involving one of three therapeutic agents: sulfonylureas, metformin, or insulin. More than three-fourths of the patients remained on the same therapy during the observation period despite the fact that 27% of these patients had HbA1c values > or = 8%. Nearly one-fifth (18%) of patients had an HbA1c level of > or = 8% and no further testing for at least 90 days after the "actionable" HbA1C result was obtained. Furthermore, 54% of patients with actionable HbA1c results did not have a change in therapy initiated after the result was available. CONCLUSIONS The American Diabetes Association recommendations to act on HbA1c values > or = 8% and to follow up regularly on patients found to be in suboptimal control do not appear to be applied in a consistent manner based on the pharmacy and laboratory data analyzed in this sample.
Decreased Numbers of CD4+ Naive and Effector Memory T Cells, and CD8+ Naïve T Cells, are Associated with Trichloroethylene Exposure

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a volatile chlorinated organic compound that is commonly used as a solvent for lipophilic compounds. Although recognized as an animal carcinogen, TCE’s carcinogenic potential in humans is still uncertain. We have carried out a cross-sectional study of 80 workers exposed to TCE and 96 unexposed controls matched on age and sex in Guangdong, China to study TCE’s early biologic effects. We previously reported that the total lymphocyte count and each of the major lymphocyte subsets (i.e., CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, natural killer cells, and B cells) were decreased in TCE-exposed workers compared to controls, suggesting a selective effect on lymphoid progenitors, and/or lymphocyte survival. To explore which T lymphocyte subsets are affected in the same study population, we investigated the effect of TCE exposure on the numbers of CD4+ naïve and memory T cells, CD8+ naïve and memory T cells, and regulatory T cells by FACS analysis. Linear regression of each subset was used to test for differences between exposed workers and controls adjusting for potential confounders. We observed that CD4+ and CD8+ naïve T cell counts were about 8% (p = 0.056) and 17% (p = 0.0002) lower, respectively, among exposed workers. CD4+ effector memory T cell counts were decreased by about 20% among TCE-exposed workers compared to controls (p = 0.001). The selective targeting of TCE on CD8+ naive and possibly CD4+ naive T cells, and CD4+ effector memory T cells, provide further insights into the immunosuppression-related response of human immune cells upon TCE exposure.
Parameter Selection and Accuracy in Type-3 Non-Uniform FFTs Based on Gaussian Gridding

We provide a su-cient condition to select the parameters of Type 3 Non-Uniform Fast Fourier Transform (NUFFT) algorithms based on the Gaussian gridding to fulflll a prescribed accuracy. This is a problem of signiflcant interest in many areas of applied electromagnetics, as for example fast antenna analysis and synthesis and fast calculation of the scattered flelds, as well as in medical imaging comprising ultrasound tomography, computed axial tomography, positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The approach is related to the one dimensional case and follows the work in (15). The accuracy of the proposed choice is flrst numerically assessed and then compared to that achieved by the approach in (2). The convenience of the strategy devised in this paper is shown. Finally, the use of the Type 3 NUFFT is highlighted for an electromagnetic application consisting of the implementation of the aggregation and disaggregation steps in the fast calculation of the scattered fleld by the Fast Multipole Method.
The γ-polymorph of AgZnPO4 with an ABW zeolite-type framework topology

The γ-polymorph of the title compound, silver zinc orthophosphate, was synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. The structure consists of ZnO4, PO4 and AgO4 units. The coordination spheres of ZnII and PV are tetrahedral, whereas the AgI atom is considerably distorted from a tetrahedral coordination. Each O atom is linked to each of the three cations. An elliptic eight-membered ring system is formed by corner-sharing of alternating PO4 and ZnO4 tetrahedra, leading to a framework with an ABW-type zeolite structure. The framework encloses channels running parallel to [100] in which the Ag cations are located, with Ag⋯Ag contacts of 3.099 (3) Å. This short distance results from d 10⋯d 10 interactions, which play a substantial role in the crystal packing. The structure of γ-AgZnPO4 is distinct from the two other polymorphs α-AgZnPO4 and β-AgZnPO4, but is isotypic with NaZnPO4-ABW, NaCoPO4-ABW and NH4CoPO4-ABW.
Position Auctions and Non-uniform Conversion Rates

The generalized second-price auction (GSP) is used predominantly for sponsored search by leading search engines like Google, MSN-Live Search and Yahoo! Previous results showed, in a model where all clicks on an ad gain the advertiser the same benefit, that GSP maximizes the social welfare in equilibrium. In practice, however, the probability that a click will convert to a sale for the advertiser depends on the position (a.k.a. slot) of the ad on the search results page. We support this observation by empirical results collected in MSN-Live adCenter. We then prove that with non-uniform conversion rates GSP does not admit an optimal equilibrium; none-the-less, we are still able to bound the incurred loss. Finally, we devise an incremental change in the GSP mechanism that achieves socially-optimal results in equilibrium, while maintaining the same interface for advertisers and the same pay-per-click business model.
Flicker Forensics for Camcorder Piracy

Camcorder piracy refers to the process of using a camcorder to record a screen that displays copyrighted content. In contrast to the previous works that aimed at detecting the occurrence of camcorder piracy, this paper conducts an in-depth study of the luminance flicker that is naturally present in camcorded videos due to the interplay between a liquid-crystal-display (LCD) screen and a camcorder. We first model the flicker signal and show that its parameters are tied to such internal characteristics of the pirate devices as the back-light frequency of the LCD screen and the read-out time of the camcorder. We then present new estimation techniques to recover these hidden parameters directly from camcorded videos and demonstrate that such forensic cues could provide intelligence on the pirate devices. We also discuss how to recover the shape of the low-power flicker signal itself and show that it could be used to infer which back-light technology employed in the pirate LCD screen.
MapIt: a case study for location driven knowledge discovery and mining

In the present world scenario, everybody is on the lookout for suitable housing options, each having different needs (e.g., the elderly are looking for safe, quiet neighbourhood, while students are looking for affordable apartments close to the university/school). For e.g., Craigslist currently does not have a map version, making the process of apartment searching a very long and laborious process. This creates a need for software that is significantly superior to current web search tools. We demonstrate the development of a tool which takes the Craigslist apartment listings on Google Maps. MapIt then integrates this functionality with the information collected from location based extraction of various web sources such as the city police blotter which makes apartment searching simpler and faster, helping the user to make a better decision. The paper also discusses the challenges that are faced in the development process, the raw and unstructured nature of the documents, the existence of geo/non-geo and geo-geo disambiguities and our approach in identifying the location of the apartment from informal text (geo-parsing and geo-tagging of content) to ensure maximum coverage of the listings.
Outage performances for amplify-and-forward, decode-and-forward and cooperative jamming strategies for the wiretap channel

In this paper, we investigate the wiretap channel in the presence of a cooperative relay node. We analyze and compare the outage performance of three cooperatives schemes: cooperative jamming (CJ), decode-and-forward (DF), and amplify-and-forward (AF) for the Rayleigh slow fading channel. In particular, we derive a closed-form expression for the outage probability for the DF and CJ strategies, which allows an optimal strategy selection in terms of outage performance. We compare the three cooperative schemes through numerical simulations.
Web Augmentation of Language Models for Continuous Speech Recognition of SMS Text Messages

In this paper, we present an efficient query selection algorithm for the retrieval of web text data to augment a statistical language model (LM). The number of retrieved relevant documents is optimized with respect to the number of queries submitted. The querying scheme is applied in the domain of SMS text messages. Continuous speech recognition experiments are conducted on three languages: English, Spanish, and French. The web data is utilized for augmenting in-domain LMs in general and for adapting the LMs to a user-specific vocabulary. Word error rate reductions of up to 6.6% (in LM augmentation) and 26.0% (in LM adaptation) are obtained in setups, where the size of the web mixture LM is limited to the size of the baseline in-domain LM.
Moderating role of Cognitive Dissonance in the relationship of Islamic work ethics and Job Satisfaction, Turnover Intention & Job Performance

Ethics in the workplace is a persistent focus of research as it is a pervasive element of organizational life. Recently, Islamic work ethics has arisen in literature on ethics because of the emergence of multiple Islam culture countries in the global economy. As ethics provides values that are the basis for behaviors, this study intends to explore the impact of Islamic work ethics on job performance, job satisfaction and turnover intention. In addition, as global business practices may sometimes contradict with morale values issued from religious convictions, this study explores the impact of cognitive dissonance as a moderator of the previous relationships. Cognitive dissonance theory is used as a theoretical framework. Data consists of 252 questionnaires completed by employees of different banks and universities of Pakistan. Findings confirm that Islamic work ethics affect job satisfaction and job performance positively, but no effect is found on turnover intention. Furthermore, results indicate that cognitive dissonance is a significant moderator such that the relationship between Islamic work ethics and job performance and job satisfaction is stronger when cognitive dissonance is low rather than high. Finally, managerial implications, limitations and future directions are discussed.
The Role of Language Objectives: Strengthening Math and Science Teachers’ Language Awareness with Emergent Bilinguals in Secondary Classrooms

El rol de los objetivos de lenguaje: fortaleciendo la conciencia linguistica de los maestros de matematicas y ciencias con los bilingues emergentes en las clases secundarias O papel dos objetivos da linguagem: fortalecer a consciencia linguistica dos professores de matematica e ciencias com os bilingues emergentes nas aulas secundarias This study focuses on the linguistic foundation of sound pedagogic practices related to non-language content areas referring especially to language objectives; it employ Tharp and Gallimore’s theory on learning: making teaching visible in order to develop the students’ thinking. In the contexts of training both before and after service, a study was conducted on how secondary-science and math teachers contextualize their own teaching according to Emergent Bilinguals (EBs) by using interviews and focus group discussions. Findings reveal that teachers gradually develop an increased sense of importance of language objectives over time. The strengths and challenges highlighted through the study show the need for increased teacher training in the area of teacher language awareness (TLA). So far, the predominance of TLA in the classrooms has been on language, rather than content. Based on the current analysis of how content teachers define and employ language objectives in their teaching, this study proposes a few ways to provide math and science teachers with tools for incorporating language into everyday teaching practices. The present study further supports the call for attention on the needs of all content teachers who work with EBs on training in language awareness. To reference this article (APA) / Para citar este articulo (APA) / Para citar este artigo (APA) Hansen-Thomas, H. , Langman, J. , & Farias, T. (2018). The role of language objectives: Strengthening math and science teachers’ language awareness with emergent bilinguals in secondary classrooms. LACLIL, 11 (2), 193-214. DOI: 10.5294/laclil.2018. 11.2. 2 Received: 22/10/2018 Approved: 13/02/2019