Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional magnetic resonance imaging based on changes in vascular space occupancy

During brain activation, local control of oxygen delivery is facilitated through microvascular dilatation and constriction. A new functional MRI (fMRI) methodology is reported that is sensitive to these microvascular adjustments. This contrast is accomplished by eliminating the blood signal in a manner that is independent of blood oxygenation and flow. As a consequence, changes in cerebral blood volume (CBV) can be assessed through changes in the remaining extravascular water signal (i.e., that of parenchymal tissue) without need for exogenous contrast agents or any other invasive procedures. The feasibility of this vascular space occupancy (VASO)‐dependent functional MRI (fMRI) approach is demonstrated for visual stimulation, breath‐hold (hypercapnia), and hyperventilation (hypocapnia). During visual stimulation and breath‐hold, the VASO signal shows an inverse correlation with the stimulus paradigm, consistent with local vasodilatation. This effect is reversed during hyperventilation. Comparison of the hemodynamic responses of VASO‐fMRI, cerebral blood flow (CBF)‐based fMRI, and blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) fMRI indicates both arteriolar and venular temporal characteristics in VASO. The effect of changes in water exchange rate and partial volume contamination with CSF were calculated to be negligible. At the commonly‐used fMRI resolution of 3.75 × 3.75 × 5 mm3, the contrast‐to‐noise‐ratio (CNR) of VASO‐fMRI was comparable to that of CBF‐based fMRI, but a factor of 3 lower than for BOLD‐fMRI. Arguments supporting a better gray matter localization for the VASO‐fMRI approach compared to BOLD are provided. Magn Reson Med 50:263–274, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Spreadsheet Infusion in Small Audit Firms in Thailand

For decades, spreadsheets have been one of the most commonly used computer applications by auditors. However, the use of spreadsheets varies considerably from one firm to another. Successful spreadsheet implementation can be viewed as occurring when spreadsheets are diffused to all auditors within an organization and are used to the fullest potential. This study aims to identify factors that contribute to the different levels of spreadsheet use among audit firms to help auditors use spreadsheets to their fullest potential (infusion). Using a series of case studies, this study found infrastructure flexibility and training to be critical infusion enablers at an early implementation stage. At later stages, support from IT champion, certain psychological factors such as staff self-efficacy, and social networks were found to be more important. Therefore, audit partners should focus on particular enablers at the right time in order to encourage auditors to use technology to its fullest potential.
Help-seeking among indigenous Australian adolescents: Exploring attitudes, behaviours and barriers

What prevents Indigenous young people from seeking professional help for emotional and/or psychological problems, and how can counselling support services, such as Australia's youth counselling service, Kids Helpline, assist in overcoming these barriers? To explore these questions this paper draws on qualitative feedback from group discussions with 60 Indigenous young people (aged 10-24 years) living in rural, regional and metropolitan Australia. Findings reveal many barriers, including shame, fear, intergenerational stigma and limited awareness. The paper suggests that addressing cultural competency in services, hosting school-based education sessions and embracing offline and online contact points are helpful steps youth services can take to encourage formal help-seeking among Indigenous young people.
A comparison of intelligibility among natural speech and seven speech synthesizers with listeners from three age groups

This investigation examined the intelligibility of natural speech and the synthetic speech produced by the Smoothtalker 3.0 male, Smoothtalker 2.0 male, Smoothtalker 2.0 female, RealVoice female, Attic R65B, Votrax SC02, and Lightwriter voices. All of these are commonly used in portable communication devices currently available on the commercial market. Both single word and sentence intelligibility across listeners from three age groups (7–8 year olds, 11–12 year olds, and adults) were assessed using tasks presented with no contextual cues. The results revealed Age Group X Voice interactions for both the word and sentence tasks, indicating different patterns of intelligibility across the age groups. The individual patterns, their implications, and future research directions arising from this study are described in detail.
Internal Auditors Skepticism in Detecting Fraud: A Quantitative Study

A quantitative online research survey was conducted to internal auditors that are members of social media. The significance of the research is to contribute to the theory that the lack of professional skepticism is the contributing factor to malpractice litigations against the auditors. To analyze the data collected for hypothesis 1, skeptical responses of the participants were divided into significance mean of >4.85 as high skeptical and ≤4.85 as low skeptical. Subsequently, the responses were analyzed by comparing the mean of the constructs of fraud indicator symptoms scale with the statistical analysis of One- way ANOVA, Homogeneity of variances. The finding was to retain the null hypotheses because the significance levels of all of the constructs for hypothesis 1 were over the probability rate of 0.05. As a result, the high level of professional skepticism of the internal auditors was unable to influence their professional judgment in detecting fraud during fraud risk assessments. Hypothesis 2 was tested by comparing the mean of years of experience with Hurtt Professional Skepticism Scale constructs to determine that high level of professional skepticism is attained through years of experience. The finding was to retain the null hypothesis because the significance level was over the alpha level of 0.05. Therefore, years of experience of the internal auditors do not achieve high level of professional skepticism. Two test instruments were used in this research; these are Hurtt professional skepticism scale (HPSS: Hurtt, 2010) and Fraud Indicator Symptoms Scale (FIS: Fullerton & Durtschi, 2004). These test instruments were measured on a 6-point Likert scale. Cronbach’s alpha 0.90 was used to test the internal reliability of the test instruments. Data collected were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistical version 21 software on One-Way ANOVA statistical model.
trans-Activation of parvovirus P38 promoter by the 76K noncapsid protein

The autonomously replicating parvoviruses contain a 5-kilobase linear single-stranded DNA genome that produces two noncapsid proteins, N1 and N2, and two overlapping capsid proteins, VP1 and VP2. To characterize the regulation of viral transcription, we began with a study of the promoter for the coat proteins (P38) at map unit 38. Various constructions containing the P38 promoter were fused to the bacterial gene for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (cat), and the relative efficiency of expression was determined in the presence and absence of parvovirus gene products. Our results show that the P38 promoter is a weak promoter without a trans-activation mediated by the 76,000-molecular-weight (76K) N1 protein. The N1 protein, supplied either by superinfection with virus or cotransfection with the cloned N1 gene, increased greatly the expression of the P38 promoter. In addition, sequences 3' to the promoter, within the region + 127 to + 648 (assuming an mRNA start site at 2008), were required for optimal expression but not for trans-activation. These results suggest that the production of parvovirus capsid proteins is under the indirect control of the P4 promoter and one of its gene products.
Eurographics/ Acm Siggraph Symposium on Computer Animation (2006) Modeling Ice Dynamics as a Thin-film Stefan Problem

Large, 3D ice formations such as icicles exhibit a high degree of geometric and optical complexity. Modeling these features by hand can be a daunting task, so we present a novel physically-based algorithm for simulating this phenomenon. Solidification is usually posed as a so-called 'Stefan problem', but the problem in its classic form is inappropriate for simulating the ice typically found in a winter scene. We instead use the 'thin-film' variant of the Stefan problem to derive velocity equations for a level set simulation. However, due to the scales involved in the problem, even an adaptive grid level set solver is still insufficient to track the tip of an icicle. Therefore, we derive an analytical solution for the icicle tip and use it to correct the level set simulation. The results appear to be in agreement with experimental data. We also present a physically-based technique for modeling ripples along the ice surface that alleviates the need to explicitly track small-scale geometry. To our knowledge, our approach is the most complete model available, and produces complex visual phenomena that no previous method has been able to capture.
Genetic studies of human acidic salivary protein (Pa).

The phenotypic expression of a dominantly inherited human salivary acidic protein (Pa) has been described in acid-urea starch and in Tris-borate acrylamide gel systems. Estimates of the Pa+ allelic frequencies in American Caucasians, American blacks, and Orientals are . 21, . 14, and . 42, respectively. The genetic and biochemical similarities to another series of proline-rich salivary proteins, Pr, and to a pair of similarly staining salivary proteins, Db (double band), are evaluated. It is concluded that either one locus or two (or three) tightly linked loci are viable explanations for this polymorphic system(s). It is suggested that the three factors, Pa, Pr, and Db, be treated as separate loci to allow clarification of their genetic relationships.
Hydrophobic Matching Controls the Tilt and Stability of the Dimeric Platelet-derived Growth Factor Receptor (PDGFR) β Transmembrane Segment*

Background: Dimerization regulates activation of PDGF receptor in signal transduction. Results: The transmembrane segment of PDGFR forms a left-handed helical dimer, which becomes more tilted and less stable in model membranes with decreasing lipid acyl chain lengths. Conclusion: The membrane thickness controls the ability of the transmembrane segments to dimerize. Significance: Receptor dimerization and activation in vivo may require relocation to thick lipid rafts. The platelet-derived growth factor receptor β is a member of the cell surface receptor tyrosine kinase family and dimerizes upon activation. We determined the structure of the transmembrane segment in dodecylphosphocholine micelles by liquid-state NMR and found that it forms a stable left-handed helical dimer. Solid-state NMR and oriented circular dichroism were used to measure the tilt angle of the helical segments in macroscopically aligned model membranes with different acyl chain lengths. Both methods showed that decreasing bilayer thickness (DEPC-POPC-DMPC) led to an increase in the helix tilt angle from 10° to 30° with respect to the bilayer normal. At the same time, reconstitution of the comparatively long hydrophobic segment became less effective, eventually resulting in complete protein aggregation in the short-chain lipid DLPC. Unrestrained molecular dynamics simulations of the dimer were carried out in explicit lipid bilayers (DEPC, POPC, DMPC, sphingomyelin), confirming the observed dependence of the helix tilt angle on bilayer thickness. Notably, molecular dynamics revealed that the left-handed dimer gets tilted en bloc, whereas conformational transitions to alternative (e.g. right-handed dimeric) states were not supported. The experimental data along with the simulation results demonstrate a pronounced interplay between the platelet-directed growth factor receptor β transmembrane segment and the bilayer thickness. The effect of hydrophobic mismatch might play a key role in the redistribution and activation of the receptor within different lipid microdomains of the plasma membrane in vivo.
Progerin impairs chromosome maintenance by depleting CENP-F from metaphase kinetochores in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria fibroblasts

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS, OMIM 176670) is a rare premature aging disorder that leads to death at an average age of 14.7 years due to myocardial infarction or stroke. The most common mutation in HGPS is at position G608G (GGC>GGT) within exon 11 of the LMNA gene. This mutation results in the deletion of 50 amino acids at the carboxyl-terminal tail of prelamin A, producing a truncated farnesylated protein called progerin. Lamins play important roles in the organization and structure of the nucleus. The nuclear build-up of progerin causes severe morphological and functional changes in interphase HGPS cells. In this study, we investigated whether progerin elicits spatiotemporal deviations in mitotic processes in HGPS fibroblasts. We analyzed the nuclear distribution of endogenous progerin during mitosis in relation to components of the nuclear lamina, nuclear envelope (NE) and nuclear pores. We found that progerin caused defects in chromosome segregation as early as metaphase, delayed NE reformation and trapped lamina components and inner NE proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum at the end of mitosis. Progerin displaced the centromere protein F (CENP-F) from metaphase chromosome kinetochores, which caused increased chromatin lagging, binucleated cells and genomic instability. This accumulation of progerin-dependent defects with each round of mitosis predisposes cells to premature senescence.
Meta-analysis for psychiatric research using free software R

Summary This paper provides a brief overview of meta-analysis (MA) with emphasis on classical fixedeffects and random-effects MA models. It illustrates the application of MA models with the open-source software R using publicly available data from five studies on lamotrigine to treat bipolar depression and finds that meta-analysis identifies a statistically significant advantage of lamotrigine over placebo that was not evident in the individual studies.
The relation between dimensions of personality and personality pathology and offence type and severity in juvenile delinquents

In a representative sample of 142 incarcerated Dutch male juveniles, normal personality dimensions were assessed with the Big Five Inventory and pathological personality dimensions with the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology - Basic Questionnaire for Adolescents. Participants' criminal charges were derived from TULP-Youth, an official Dutch judicial registration system. Charges were categorized (against morality/against life/violent/violent with property/property) and were assigned a signal value representing their severity. Personality dimensions appear not to be related to offence type or severity. Other factors are suggested to be of greater importance, like the trajectory of criminal development and a possible neuro-maturational gap, causing sensitivity to juvenile delinquency at a certain age. Recommendations for further research are presented.
Understanding the physical environment of work and employee behavior: An affective events perspective

Despite the fact that so many employees in the modern industrialized world work in office settings, organizational behavior researchers to date have been slow to recognize how important it is to study the effects of the physical work environment on office workers. Consequently, we have yet to form a clear understanding of the connection between the workplace physical environment and office workers' behaviors and outcomes. In this essay, therefore, we seek to unpack some of the broad issues, including the effects of major characteristics of the physical environment of work—such as personal space and spatial density, personalization and identity, territoriality, conflict, and emotions—that can help to advance our knowledge in this field. We focus on open-plan office settings and suggest that this particular physical environment constitutes a source of “affective events” that, in turn, shape office workers' behaviors and attitudes.
Production is at the left edge of the PDC but still central: response to commentaries

In one of the commentaries to my target article (MacDonald, 2013) advocating the Production Distribution Comprehension (PDC) account, Ramscar and Baayen (2013) generously suggest that it's an “intellectual pleasure” to contemplate the PDC claims, even if they don't entirely agree with them. This characterization—both the genuine pleasure and the not entirely agreeing—equally applies to me in reading these 11 stimulating commentaries, and I address some major themes below.
Justice or respect? A comparative perspective on politics in Cyprus

This article argues that the anonymity of modern politics - usually seen as a requirement for good democracy - may in fact undermine cooperative politics in small-scale societies. For very many people in the world, this essay argues, it is not the pre-social, monadic individual of Western liberalism but an immanently social person who is or should be the possessor of the rights, responsibilities and freedoms of the polity. As a result, the principle of 'universal' equality is always already delimited by the nation conceived as ethnos. This essay takes the case of Cyprus to show that in this divided island democracy has been imagined as a freedom defined ethnically - as freedom for a particular group. Moreover, various historical contingencies brought those imaginings of a true and just democratic ethnos into conflict. The themes of "justice" and "respect" employed here represent those aspirations and their seemingly inevitable conflict.
Missing the Party: Political Categorization and Reasoning in the Absence of Party Label Cues

This research addressed theoretical approaches in political science arguing that the American electorate is either poorly informed or dependent on party label cues, by assessing performance on political judgment tasks when party label information is missing. The research materials were created from the results of a national opinion survey held during a national election. The experiments themselves were run on nationally representative samples of adults, identified from another national electoral survey. Participants saw profiles of simulated individuals, including information about demographics and issue positions, but omitting party labels. In Experiment 1, participants successfully judged the likelihood of party membership based on the profiles. In Experiment 2, participants successfully voted based on their party interests. The results were mediated by participants' political knowledge. Conclusions are drawn with respect to theories from political science and issues in cognitive science regarding categorization and reasoning.
Long-Term Collisional Evolution of Debris Disks

IR surveys indicate that the dust content in debris disks gradually declines with stellar age. We simulated the long-term collisional depletion of debris disks around solar-type (G2 V) stars with our collisional code. The numerical results were supplemented by, and interpreted through, a new analytic model. General scaling rules for the disk evolution are suggested. The timescale of the collisional evolution is inversely proportional to the initial disk mass and scales with radial distance as r4.3 and with eccentricities of planetesimals as e−2.3. Further, we show that at actual ages of debris disks between 10 Myr and 10 Gyr, the decay laws of the dust mass and the total disk mass are different. The reason is that the collisional lifetime of planetesimals is size dependent. At any moment, there exists a transitional size, which separates larger objects that still retain the ``primordial'' size distribution set in the growth phase from smaller objects whose size distribution is already set by disruptive collisions. The dust mass and its decay rate evolve as that transition affects objects of ever larger sizes. Under standard assumptions, the dust mass, fractional luminosity, and thermal fluxes all decrease as tξ with ξ = − 0.3 to –0.4. Specific decay laws of the total disk mass and the dust mass, including the value of ξ, largely depend on a few model parameters, such as the critical fragmentation energy as a function of size, the primordial size distribution of largest planetesimals, and the characteristic eccentricity and inclination of their orbits. With standard material prescriptions and a distribution of disk masses and extents, a synthetic population of disks generated with our analytic model agrees quite well with the observed Spitzer MIPS statistics of 24 and 70 μm fluxes and colors versus age.
EFANNA : An Extremely Fast Approximate Nearest Neighbor Search Algorithm Based on kNN Graph

Approximate nearest neighbor (ANN) search is a fundamental problem in many areas of data mining, machine learning and computer vision. The performance of traditional hierarchical structure (tree) based methods decreases as the dimensionality of data grows, while hashing based methods usually lack efficiency in practice. Recently, the graph based methods have drawn considerable attention. The main idea is that \emph{a neighbor of a neighbor is also likely to be a neighbor}, which we refer as \emph{NN-expansion}. These methods construct a $k$-nearest neighbor ($k$NN) graph offline. And at online search stage, these methods find candidate neighbors of a query point in some way (\eg, random selection), and then check the neighbors of these candidate neighbors for closer ones iteratively. Despite some promising results, there are mainly two problems with these approaches: 1) These approaches tend to converge to local optima. 2) Constructing a $k$NN graph is time consuming. We find that these two problems can be nicely solved when we provide a good initialization for NN-expansion. In this paper, we propose EFANNA, an extremely fast approximate nearest neighbor search algorithm based on $k$NN Graph. Efanna nicely combines the advantages of hierarchical structure based methods and nearest-neighbor-graph based methods. Extensive experiments have shown that EFANNA outperforms the state-of-art algorithms both on approximate nearest neighbor search and approximate nearest neighbor graph construction. To the best of our knowledge, EFANNA is the fastest algorithm so far both on approximate nearest neighbor graph construction and approximate nearest neighbor search. A library EFANNA based on this research is released on Github.
Controlling a physical model with a 2D force matrix

Physical modeling has proven to be a successful method of synthesizing highly expressive sounds. However, providing deep methods of real time musical control remains a major challenge. In this paper we describe our work towards an instrument for percussion synthesis, in which a waveguide mesh is both excited and damped by a 2D matrix of forces from a sensor. By emulating a drum skin both as controller and sound generator, our instrument has reproduced some of the expressive qualities of hand drumming. Details of our implementation are discussed, as well as qualitative results and experience gleaned from live performances.
Adaptive scalable texture compression

We describe a fixed-rate, lossy texture compression system that is designed to offer an unusual degree of flexibility and to support a very wide range of use cases, while providing better image quality than most formats in common use today. The system supports both 2D and 3D textures, at both standard and high dynamic range, at bit rates ranging from eight bits per pixel down to less than one bit per pixel in very fine steps. At any bit rate, texels can have from one to four color components. The system's flexibility results from a number of novel features. Color spaces and weights are represented using an encoding scheme that allows flexible allocation of bits between different types of information. The system uses bilinear interpolation to derive color space coordinates for a texel from sparse samples, and uses a procedural partition function to map texels to color spaces.