Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Communication Ecologies: Analyzing Adoption of False Beliefs in an Information-Rich Environment

The continued fragmentation of information and the proliferation of communication resources necessitate a shift toward perspectives that situate communication practices in a multilevel ecosystem. The current article offers a method to map and analyze communication ecologies—defined as the networks of communication connections that individuals depend on in order to construct knowledge and achieve goals—as social networks. To demonstrate the potential of communication ecologies as an analytical tool in science communication, we report on the results of a feasibility study (N = 654) in the context of climate science and vaccine safety. The article discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the communication ecology approach.
Effects of Disorganization on Team problem solving and motivation – An agent-based modeling approach

This paper aims at simulating how “disorganization” affects team problem solving and motivation. The prime objective is to determine how team problem solving varies between an organized and disorganized environment. Using agent-based modeling, we use a real world data set from 226 volunteers at five different types of non-profit organizations in Southwest England in order to define some attributes of the agents. We introduce the concepts of natural, structural and functional disorganization while operationalizing natural and functional disorganization. The simulations show that “disorganization” is more conducive for problem solving efficiency than “organization” given enough flexibility (range) to search and acquire resources. Our findings further demonstrate that teams with resources above their hierarchical level (access to better quality resources) tend to perform better than teams that have only limited access to resources. Our nuanced categories of “(dis-)organization” allow us to compare between various structural limitations, thus generating insights for improving the way managers’ structure teams for better problem-solving. Keywords: agent-based modeling, disorganization, team performance, public service motivation
An active surveillance study of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVE To assess the rate of faecal vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus colonisation in high-risk patients in a regional hospital. DESIGN Prospective observational surveillance study. SETTING Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS From September 2001 to December 2002, stool samples from patients in the intensive care unit and patients in whom Clostridium difficile testing was requested were used for study using a broth enrichment method. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Number of faecal vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus colonisation. RESULTS A total of 2414 cultures from 1792 patients were tested for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus using a broth enrichment method. Only one (0.06%) patient was found to harbour a vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis in the gastro-intestinal tract. Surveillance cultures from contacts of the case revealed another six with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis. Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis was also later reported from a clinical specimen (catheterized urine) of another patient. They were all epidemiologically linked to the index case. Mean inhibitory concentrations of vancomycin and teicoplanin were determined to be higher than 256 and 0.5 microgram/mL, respectively by E-test for all the vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus isolates. Polymerase chain reaction analysis confirmed the presence of vanB genes and the result was in line with the phenotype. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis confirmed a monoclonal vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus outbreak. Strict infection control measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were followed and the outbreak was successfully controlled. CONCLUSION Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus colonisation is rare, but present among high-risk patients in our hospital. A routine surveillance programme should be implemented that will enable early case detection and prompt initiation of infection control measures to prevent the emergence of an endemic situation.
Ages of White Dwarf-Red Subdwarf Systems

We provide the first age estimates for two recently discovered white dwarf-red subdwarf systems, LHS 193AB and LHS 300AB. These unusual systems provide a new opportunity for linking the reliable age estimates for the white dwarfs to the (measurable) metallicities of the red subdwarfs. We have obtained precise photometry in the VJRKCIKCJH bands and spectroscopy covering from 6000 to 9000 Å for the two new systems, as well as for a comparison white dwarf-main-sequence red dwarf system, GJ 283 AB. Using model grids available in the literature, we estimate the cooling ages, as well as temperatures, surface gravities, masses, progenitor masses, and total lifetimes of the white dwarfs. The results indicate that the two new systems are probably ancient thick-disk objects with ages of at least 6-9 Gyr. We also conduct searches of red dwarf and white dwarf compendia from SDSS data, Lépine Shara Proper Motion (LSPM) catalog, and Chanamé & Gould for additional common proper motion white dwarf-red subdwarf systems. Only seven new candidate systems are found, which indicates the rarity of these systems.
Momentum spectrum of cosmic muons at a depth of 320 mwe

Since their discovery, great progress has been achieved in the field of cosmic ray physics particularly towards the understanding of the origin, transport and acceleration mechanisms of the high energy particles that constitute primary cosmic rays, their interaction processes in the galactic and extra galactic media, and also in the Earth's atmosphere. The interaction of primary cosmic ray particles in the Earth's atmosphere leads to the production of a cascade of secondary particles or Extensive Air Showers (EAS) with various components - electromagnetic, hadronic, muon and neutrino components. There is a large number of models to describe these interactions. Many cosmic ray experiments have used a variety of observables in EAS that provide an understanding of the hadronic interactions and also shed some light on the chemical composition of the primary particles. The muon flux at the surface provides a useful tool for the calculations of neutrino fluxes, the reconstruction of EAS and it can serve as a test of various interaction models. The CosmoALEPH detector, whichwas one of the experiments in CosmoLEP used the ALEPH detector at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, CERN, to measure the muonic component of EAS. Preliminary results have recently shown that the momentum more » spectrum and charge ratio for cosmic muons measured by CosmoALEPH are well within the world average. This work reports on further improvements in the reconstruction of the cosmic muon events and data analysis. Cosmic muons are produced through interactions of primary cosmic radiation in the atmosphere. They are a component of extensive air showers which can also be measured underground. The CosmoALEPH experiment used the ALEPH detector at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, CERN, to measure cosmic muon events at a depth of 320 mwe underground. The momentum spectrum and charge ratio of the cosmic muons are measured. The results are compared with the expectations from MC simulations based on different hadronic interaction models. « less
Establishing a Service-Oriented Tool Chain for the Development of Domain-Independent MBT Scenarios

Since software systems become more and more complex, the efforts for developing, documenting and executing meaningful test cases increases. Testing is a vital, but time- and resource-consuming activity. To avoid running out of time or budget, new test methodologies had to be established in order to increase reliable, yet maintainable test scenarios. In the last years the Model-Driven idea matures to the most promising approaches to solve current problems in the software development domain. Model-Based Testing adopts these concepts to exploit their benefits for testing area. In this paper an integrated tool chain (called FOKUS! MBT) is discussed, to enable a Model-based development of testing scenarios. It is based on a canonical metamodel for testing concerns and a service-oriented model storage and exchange infrastructure, that allows a flexible, yet extensible adaptation to different test process requirements. Its premise is to establish a tooling architecture for the specification and development of a domain-independent Model-based testing scenario.
Resuscitation of Newborn Piglets. Short-Term Influence of FiO2 on Matrix Metalloproteinases, Caspase-3 and BDNF

Background Perinatal hypoxia-ischemia is a major cause of mortality and cerebral morbidity, and using oxygen during newborn resuscitation may further harm the brain. The aim was to examine how supplementary oxygen used for newborn resuscitation would influence early brain tissue injury, cell death and repair processes and the regulation of genes related to apoptosis, neurodegeneration and neuroprotection. Methods and Findings Anesthetized newborn piglets were subjected to global hypoxia and then randomly assigned to resuscitation with 21%, 40% or 100% O2 for 30 min and followed for 9 h. An additional group received 100% O2 for 30 min without preceding hypoxia. The left hemisphere was used for histopathology and immunohistochemistry and the right hemisphere was used for in situ zymography in the corpus striatum; gene expression and the activity of various relevant biofactors were measured in the frontal cortex. There was an increase in the net matrix metalloproteinase gelatinolytic activity in the corpus striatum from piglets resuscitated with 100% oxygen vs. 21%. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining revealed no significant changes. Nine hours after oxygen-assisted resuscitation, caspase-3 expression and activity was increased by 30–40% in the 100% O2 group (n = 9/10) vs. the 21% O2 group (n = 10; p<0.04), whereas brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) activity was decreased by 65% p<0.03. Conclusions The use of 100% oxygen for resuscitation resulted in increased potentially harmful proteolytic activities and attenuated BDNF activity when compared with 21%. Although there were no significant changes in short term cell loss, hyperoxia seems to cause an early imbalance between neuroprotective and neurotoxic mechanisms that might compromise the final pathological outcome.
The Role of Thinking Styles in Program Satisfaction and Perceived Intellectual Competence Among STEM Doctoral Students

This research pioneered the investigation of the role of doctoral students’ thinking styles in their program satisfaction and perceived intellectual competence. Participants were 285 STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) students in Hong Kong. Results showed that students’ thinking styles as measured by the Thinking Styles Inventory—Revised II (Sternberg, Wagner, & Zhang, 2007) statistically significantly predicted their program satisfaction and perceived intellectual competence as assessed by two of the scales in the newly constructed Graduate Student Survey (Shin et al., 2015)—beyond their gender, program year, and academic discipline. Findings have brought new insights into the assessment of doctoral students’ program satisfaction and perceived intellectual competence. At the same time, findings have contributed to the literature on intellectual styles and that on doctoral education in STEM fields. Practical implications of the findings are proposed for STEM doctoral students in understanding their own ways of thinking and program experiences and outcomes, as well as for academics and senior managers in their efforts to enhance students’ access to positive program experiences and outcomes.
Control of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Growth by Connexin 43

Connexin 43 (Cx43), the principal gap junction protein in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), regulates movement of ions and other signaling molecules through gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) and plays important roles in maintaining normal vessel function; however, many of the signaling mechanisms controlling Cx43 in VSMCs are not clearly described. The goal of this study was to investigate mechanisms of Cx43 regulation with respect to VSMC proliferation. Treatment of rat primary VSMCs with the cAMP analog 8Br-cAMP, the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator BAY 41-2272 (BAY), or the Cx inducer diallyl disulfide (DADS) significantly reduced proliferation after 72 h compared with vehicle controls. Bromodeoxyuridine uptake revealed reduction (p < 0.05) in DNA synthesis after 6 h and flow cytometry showed reduced (40%) S-phase cell numbers after 16 h in DADS-treated cells compared with vehicle controls. Cx43 expression significantly increased after 270 min treatment with 8Br-cAMP, 8Br-cGMP, BAY or DADS. Inhibition of PKA, PKG or PKC reversed 8Br-cAMP-stimulated increases in Cx43 expression, whereas only PKG or PKC inhibition reversed 8Br-cGMP- and BAY-stimulated increases in total Cx43. Interestingly, stimulation of Cx43 expression by DADS was not dependent on PKA, PKG or PKC. Using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, only 8Br-cAMP or DADS increased GJIC with 8Br-cAMP mediated by PKC and DADS mediated by PKG. Further, DADS significantly increased phosphorylation at MAPK-sensitive Serine (Ser)255 and Ser279, the cell cycle regulatory kinase-sensitive Ser262 and PKC-sensitive Ser368 after 30 min while 8Br-cAMP significantly increased phosphorylation only at Ser279 compared with controls. This study demonstrates that 8Br-cAMP- and DADS-enhanced GJIC rather than Cx43 expression and/or phosphorylation plays important roles in the regulation of VSMC proliferation and provides new insights into the growth-regulatory capacities of Cx43 in VSM.
Open questions on unified approach for calibration of oscillometric blood pressure measurement devices

Most of automatic blood pressure measurement devices on the market implement an oscillometric method. The paper highlights the need for standardized calibration procedures for these devices in order to reduce logistical difficulties, time-consuming processes and high costs involved in clinical validations. A critical overview of researchers' and manufacturers' proposals to answer this need is presented as a contribution to the IEEE P1721 project for a new standard on Objective Measurement of Systemic Arterial Blood Pressure in Humans.
Análisis psicométrico del Inventario de Autoeficacia para las Inteligencias Múltiples-Revisado (IAMI-R) en estudiantes peruanos de nivel secundario

El presente estudio instrumental (Ato, López y Benavente, 2013) o de tipo psicométrico (Alarcón, 2008) planteó como objetivo estimar la validez y fiabilidad del Inventario de Autoeficacia para las Inteligencias Múltiples-Revisado (IAMI-R, Pérez y Cupani, 2008) en estudiantes peruanos de quinto de secundaria. Se trabajó con una muestra de 1304 adolescentes, edad promedio 16.81, dividida en dos grupos de 652. La confiabilidad se calculó con el Alfa ordinal (Contreras & Novoa-Muñoz, 2018) y con el coeficiente Omega de McDonald, obteniéndose valores apropiados. El Análisis Factorial Exploratorio (AFE) confirma los ocho factores de la versión original que explican el 70% de la variabilidad de las puntuaciones. Con el análisis factorial confirmatorio (AFC) se obtuvieron índices de ajuste que confirman esta estructura factorial: SSc2 = 1857.73, gl = 1047, SSc2 / gl = 1.77, RMSEA = . 035, SRMR = . 049, CFI = . 915 y TLI = . 908. Los resultados confirman que el IAMI-R es adecuado para evaluar autoeficacia asociada a inteligencias múltiples en estudiantes peruanos que culminan la secundaria.
Are we interested? a trend analysis of sex offender internet registries

ABSTRACT Traditional research on community awareness and use of sex offender registries relies upon random digit dialing and other survey instruments. While important sources of data, these sources have limitations and attempts to improve on these measures are bound to funding limitations impeding the collection of larger samples. Analyzing internet search query data associated with interest in sex offender registries from 2006–2016, we explore regional and temporal trends associated with interest in sex offender registries. Results substantiate prior research using mail and telephone surveys, and that of other similar methodologies, showing that interest in sex offender registries display low to moderate interest, which are relatively stable overtime and declining in interest.
Gastroprotective Effect of an Ethanolic Extract from Neoglaziovia variegata (Arruda) Mez (Bromeliaceae) in Rats and Mice

This study investigates the gastroprotective effect of a crude ethanolic extract of Neoglaziovia variegata (Arruda) Mez (Bromeliaceae), designated Nv-EtOH, in experimental models of gastric ulcer. In the ethanol-induced gastric ulcer model, Nv-EtOH showed gastroprotection at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight (BW) (57.0% and 79.7%, respectively). Nv-EtOH also significantly reduced the formation of gastric lesions induced by ethanol/HCl (31.6% and 63.5%), ibuprofen (70.0% and 74.3%), or ischemia/reperfusion in rats (65.0% and 87.0%) at 200 and 400 mg/kg BW when compared with the vehicle group. In the antioxidant activity assessment, Nv-EtOH (400 mg/kg BW) increased the catalase activity and sulfhydryl groups (SH) levels, respectively. Moreover, gastroprotection against ethanol damage was decreased after ibuprofen pretreatment. Nv-EtOH (400 mg/kg BW) promoted a significant increase in the content of gastric wall mucus. The Nv-EtOH effect was significantly reduced in mice pretreated with NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG) or glibenclamide, inhibitors of nitric oxide synthase and KATP channel activation, respectively, suggesting the involvement of these mechanisms in the Nv-EtOH-induced gastroprotective effect. Nv-EtOH decreased the total acidity, but did not modify other gastric juice parameters. Nv-EtOH was also effective in promoting the healing process in chronic gastric ulcer induced by acetic acid in rats.
Understanding and Diagnosing Visual Tracking Systems

Several benchmark datasets for visual tracking research have been created in recent years. Despite their usefulness, whether they are sufficient for understanding and diagnosing the strengths and weaknesses of different trackers remains questionable. To address this issue, we propose a framework by breaking a tracker down into five constituent parts, namely, motion model, feature extractor, observation model, model updater, and ensemble post-processor. We then conduct ablative experiments on each component to study how it affects the overall result. Surprisingly, our findings are discrepant with some common beliefs in the visual tracking research community. We find that the feature extractor plays the most important role in a tracker. On the other hand, although the observation model is the focus of many studies, we find that it often brings no significant improvement. Moreover, the motion model and model updater contain many details that could affect the result. Also, the ensemble post-processor can improve the result substantially when the constituent trackers have high diversity. Based on our findings, we put together some very elementary building blocks to give a basic tracker which is competitive in performance to the state-of-the-art trackers. We believe our framework can provide a solid baseline when conducting controlled experiments for visual tracking research.
Dormant Shocks and Fiscal Virtue

We develop a model in which the current behavior of the fiscal and monetary authorities influence agents' beliefs about the way debt will be stabilized. The standard policy mix consists of a virtuous fiscal authority that moves taxes in response to debt and a Central Bank that has full control over inflation. When policy makers deviate from this virtuous policy mix, agents conduct Bayesian learning to infer the likely duration of the deviation. As agents observe more and more deviations, they become increasingly pessimistic about a prompt return to the virtuous regime and inflation starts moving to keep debt on a stable path. Shocks which were dormant under the virtuous policy mix start now manifesting themselves. These changes are initially imperceptible, but they unfold over decades and accelerate as agents get convinced that the fiscal authority will not raise taxes. Dormant fiscal shocks can account for the run-up of inflation in the `70s and the deflationary pressure of the early 2000s. We point out that the currently low long term interest rates and inflation expectations might hide the true risk of inflation faced by the US economy.
Removal of Salt-and Pepper Noise in Images: A New Decision-Based Algorithm

An improved decision-based algorithm for the restoration of gray-scale and color images that are highly corrupted by Salt-and-Pepper noise, is proposed in this paper which efficiently removes the salt and pepper noise while preserving the details. The algorithm utilizes previously processed neighboring pixel values to get better image quality than the one utilizing only the just previously processed pixel value. The proposed algorithm is faster and also produces better result than a Standard Median Filter (SMF), Adaptive Median Filters (AMF), Cascade and Recursive non-linear filters. The advantage of the proposed algorithm (PA) lies in removing only the noisy pixel either by the median value or by the mean of the previously processed neighboring pixel values. Different gray- scale and color images have been tested by using the proposed algorithm and found to produce better PSNR and SSIM values.
Investigating Trust between Users and Agents in A Multi Agent Portfolio Management System : a Preliminary Report

We have witnessed considerable research investigating trust between agents in multi-agent systems. However, the issue of trust between agents and users has rarely been reported in the literature. In this paper, we describe our experiences with ITRUST, a multi-agent artificial market system whose software broker agent can learn to build a relatively long-term trust relationship with their clients. The goals of these broker agents are not only to maximize the total revenue subject to their clients’ risk preference as most other agents do in [10, 14, 17], but also to maximize the trust they receive from their clients. Trust is introduced into I-TRUST as a relationship between clients and their software broker agents in terms of the amount of money they are willing to give to these agents to invest on their behalf. To achieve this, broker agents first elicit user models explicitly through questionnaires and implicitly through three games. Then based on the initial user models, they will learn to invest and later update the models when necessary.
Enduring Extremes? Polar Vortex, Drought, and Climate Change Beliefs

ABSTRACT Some extreme weather events may be more likely to affect climate change beliefs than others, in part because schema individuals possess for different events could vary in encouraging such links. Using a representative sample of U.S. adults and geocoded National Weather Service data, we examine how a range of extreme weather event categories relate to climate change beliefs, and the degree to which individuals’ self-reported experiences are shaped by their political views across event types. For tornado, hurricane, and flood events, we find no link with beliefs. For polar vortex and drought events, we find that although self-reported experience is linked with climate beliefs, reporting of these experiences is influenced by political identity and partisan news exposure. These findings underscore a limited role for extreme weather experiences in climate beliefs, and show that events more open to interpretation, such as droughts and polar vortex disturbances, are most likely to be seen through a partisan lens.