Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Attentional Modulation of Infant Visual Short-Term Memory

Approved: ____________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________ Title and Department ____________________________________ Date 1 ATTENTIONAL MODULATION OF INFANT VISUAL SHORT-TERM MEMORY by Shannon Ross-Sheehy A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Psychology in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa
Black string instabilities in anti-de Sitter space

We show how to extend the usual black string instability of vacuum or charged black p-branes to the anti-de Sitter background. The string fragments in an analogous fashion to the Λ = 0 case, the main difference being that instead of a periodic array of black holes forming, an accumulation of `mini' black holes occurs towards the AdS horizon. In the case where the AdS space is of finite extent, such as an orbifold compactification, we show how the instability switches off below a certain compactification scale.
A Generalized Taylor-Aris Formula and Skew Diffusion

This paper concerns the Taylor–Aris dispersion of a dilute solute concentration immersed in a highly heterogeneous fluid flow having possibly sharp interfaces (discontinuities) in the diffusion coefficient and flow velocity. The focus is twofold: (i) calculation of the longitudinal effective dispersion coefficient and (ii) sample path analysis of the underlying stochastic process governing the motion of solute particles. Essentially complete solutions are obtained for both problems.
Incremental Global Event Extraction

Event extraction is a difficult information extraction task. Li et al. (2014) explore the benefits of modeling event extraction and two related tasks, entity mention and relation extraction, jointly. This joint system achieves state-of-the-art performance in all tasks. However, as a system operating only at the sentence level, it misses valuable information from other parts of the document. In this paper, we present an incremental easy-first approach to make the global context of the entire document available to the intra-sentential, state-of-the-art event extractor. We show that our method robustly increases performance on two datasets, namely ACE 2005 and TAC 2015.
Vaccination Behaviour Influences Self-Report of Influenza Vaccination Status: A Cross-Sectional Study among Health Care Workers

Background Published influenza vaccination coverage in health care workers (HCW) are calculated using two sources: self-report and vaccination records. The objective of this study was to determine whether self-report is a good proxy for recorded vaccination in HCW, as the degree of the relationship is not known, and whether vaccine behaviour influences self-reporting. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered survey during September 2010. Considering the vaccination record as the gold standard of vaccination, the properties of self-report as a proxy of the record (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value) were calculated. Concordance between the vaccination campaigns studied (2007–2010) was made using the Kappa index, and discordance was analyzed using McNemar’s test. Results 248 HCW responded. The 95% confidence intervals of coverage according to the vaccination record and to self-report overlapped, except for 2007, and the Kappa index showed a substantial concordance, except for 2007. McNemar’s test suggested that differences between discordant cases were not due to chance and it was found that the proportion of unvaccinated discordant cases was higher than that of vaccinated discordant cases. Conclusions In our study population, self-reported influenza vaccination coverage in HCW in the previous two years is a good proxy of the vaccination record. However, vaccination behaviour influences the self-report and explains a trend to overestimate coverage in self-reporting compared to the vaccination record. The sources of coverage should be taken into account whenever comparisons are made.
Top management support in small business information systems implementation: how important is it?

The importance of top management support in information systems (IS) implementation has been emphasized in previous IS studies. But, is it really that important? This paper describes an empirical investigation of the influence of CEO support on IS effectiveness in 114 small businesses. The results show that CEO support has a significantly positive impact on IS effectiveness. However, irrespective of the level of CEO support, external technical expertise, in the forms of consultants and vendors, has a greater impact on IS effectiveness. This finding suggests that the lack of quality technical expertise is more critical than the level of CEO support in small business IS implementation.
Serious games for rehabilitation: A survey and a classification towards a taxonomy

Serious Games are growing into a significant area spurred by the growth in the use of video games and of new methods for their development. They have important applications in several distinct areas such as: military, health, government, and education. The design of computer games can offer valuable contributions to develop effective games in the rehabilitation area. This paper presents fundamental concepts relating to Serious Games followed by a survey of relevant work and applications on Serious Games for Rehabilitation. We propose a classification designed to properly distinguish and compare Serious Games for Rehabilitation systems in what concerns their fundamental characteristics. We also describe a particular Serious Game for Rehabilitation, RehaCom, as a case study. Finally, the paper presents some challenges and research opportunities in this area.
Applying probabilistic Mixture Models to semantic place classification in mobile robotics

In this paper a study is made of the problem of classifying scenarios, in terms of semantic categories, based on data gathered from sensors mounted on-board mobile robots operating indoors. Once the data are transformed to feature space, supervised classification is performed by a probabilistic approach called Dynamic Bayesian Mixture Models (DBMM). This approach combines class-conditional probabilities from supervised learning models and incorporates past inferences. In this work, several experiments on multi-class semantic place classification are reported based on publicly available datasets. Such experiments were conducted in a such way that generalization aspects are emphasized, which is particularly important in real-world applications. Benchmark results show the effectiveness and competitive performance of the DBMM method, in terms of classification rates, using features extracted from 2D range data and from a RGB-D (Kinect) sensor.
Cytosols Acetyltransferases and Sulfotransferases in Human Hepatic NAD ( P ) H : Quinone Oxidoreductase and Conjugation by by 3-Nitrobenzanthrone Forms DNA Adducts after Reduction Environmental Pollutant and Potent Mutagen

3-Nitrobenzanthrone (3-nitro-7H-benz[de]anthracen-7-one, 3NBA) is a potent mutagen and suspected human carcinogen identified in diesel exhaust and air pollution. We compared the ability of human hepatic cytosolic samples to catalyze DNA adduct formation by 3-NBA. Using the P-postlabeling method, we found that 12/12 hepatic cytosols activated 3-NBA to form multiple DNA adducts similar to those formed in vivo in rodents. By comparing 3-NBA–DNA adduct formation in the presence of cofactors of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) and xanthine oxidase, most of the reductive activation of 3-NBA in human hepatic cytosols was attributed to NQO1. Inhibition of adduct formation by dicoumarol, an NQO1 inhibitor, supported this finding and was confirmed with human recombinant NQO1. When cofactors of N,Oacetyltransferases (NAT) and sulfotransferases (SULT) were added to cytosolic samples, 3-NBA–DNA adduct formation increased 10to 35-fold. Using human recombinant NQO1 and NATs or SULTs, we found that mainly NAT2, followed by SULT1A2, NAT1, and, to a lesser extent, SULT1A1 activate 3NBA. We also evaluated the role of hepatic NADPH:cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (POR) in the activation of 3-NBA in vivo by treating hepatic POR-null mice and wild-type littermates i.p. with 0.2 or 2 mg/kg body weight of 3-NBA. No difference in DNA binding was found in any tissue examined (liver, lung, kidney, bladder, and colon) between null and wild-type mice, indicating that 3-NBA is predominantly activated by cytosolic nitroreductases rather than microsomal POR. Collectively, these results show the role of human hepatic NQO1 to reduce 3-NBA to species being further activated by NATs and SULTs. (Cancer Res 2005; 65(7): 2644-52)
Pedagogy: the silent partner in early years learning

This paper sets out to look critically at the influences on pedagogy in early years education, at the ways in which it is enacted in practice and the pedagogical perspectives held by practitioners. The aim of the paper is to explore the current state of understanding and suggest areas to be included in an agenda for future research. The factors that influence practitioners’ actions are reviewed and the consensus around child‐centredness and play is challenged. Findings from two studies of pedagogy in action in the early years are presented and examined in terms of sociocultural theory and its implications for practice. The first of these studies draws attention to the varied nature of pedagogical interactions that support learning while the second looks at the experience of pedagogical innovation. The need for researchers and practitioners to find effective ways of communicating and working together is stressed throughout the paper.
User-Driven Design of a Flexible Distance Education Environment - Rationale, Lessons Learned and Future Implications

This paper discusses the challenges inherent in distributed education and presents the development of a distance education environment to meet the needs of educators and geographically dispersed students at Lulea University of Technology in northern Sweden. The design rationale and experiences from teaching in the environment are discussed. During the course of the research, several prerequisites for quality distance education were identified, one of which is the main topic of this paper. Here, the needs identified by the educators who are to use the created environment are discussed. Those needs have led to the design of the environment, including physical spaces, tools and technologies. Our results indicate that it is now possible to design a highly useful environment for distributed education at a much lower cost-to-quality ratio than only a few years ago. Such a system may be created in a way that allows teachers to learn to use the environment self sufficiently. Thereby, the need for support staff is greatly diminished. The results indicate that the use of appropriate methods and tools lets teachers work in a distributed environment in a way that closely resembles their normal way of work in a teaching situation. In addition, a strategy for future development of the environment, based on the results presented here and on previous research, is suggested.
On the security of modern Single Sign-On Protocols: OpenID Connect 1.0

OpenID Connect is a new Single Sign-On authentication protocol, which is becoming increasingly important since its publication in February 2014. OpenID Connect relies on the OAuth protocol, which currently is the de facto standard for delegated authorization in the modern web and is supported by leading companies like, e.g., Google, Facebook and Twitter. An important limitation of OAuth is the fact that it was designed for authorization and not for authentication -- it introduces a concept that allows a third party, e.g., a mobile App or a web application, to only access a subset of resources belonging to a user. However, it does not provide a secure means to uniquely identify the user. Thus, recent research revealed existing problems in case that OAuth is used for authentication nonetheless. These problems result in severe security vulnerabilities. To fill this gap, OpenID Connect was created. It provides federated identity management and authentication by adding authentication capabilities on top of the OAuth protocol. % Although OpenID Connect is a very new standard, companies like Google, Microsoft, AOL and PayPal, who were also involved in the development, use it already. In this paper we describe the OpenID Connect protocol and provide the first in-depth analysis of one of the key features of OpenID Connect, the \emph{Discovery} and the \emph{Dynamic Registration} extensions. We show that the usage of these extensions can compromise the security of the entire protocol. We develop a new attack called \emph{Malicious Endpoints} attack, evaluate it against an existing implementation, and propose countermeasures to fix the presented issues.
Beyond the Beat: Towards Metre, Rhythm and Melody Modelling with Hybrid Oscillator Networks

In this paper we take a connectionist machine learning approach to the problem of metre perception and learning in musical signals. We present a hybrid network consisting of a nonlinear oscillator network and a recurrent neural network. The oscillator network acts as an entrained resonant filter to the musical signal. It ‘perceives’ metre by resonating to the inherent frequencies within the signal. The neural network learns the long-term temporal structures present in the signal. We show that our hybrid network outperforms previous approaches of a single layer recurrent neural network in melody prediction tasks. By perceiving metrical structure, our system is enabled to model more coherent long-term structures, and can be used in a multitude of analytic and generative scenarios, including live performance applications.
Entrepreneurial orientation and performance – are sexes equal?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the different perceptions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of females compared to those of their male counterparts. EO and its links to performance are examined at the level of both the individual and the firm. Design/methodology/approach – Multiple linear regression analyses of a data set with 301 employees in different industries reveal significant differences between genders. Findings – EO has a positive impact on performance at both individual and firm levels of analysis. Females tend to perceive their individual EO as lower than males, but their self-evaluated work performance is higher than that of males. The firm’s EO is also perceived differently by men and by women, but the perceptions of firm’s performance are similar. Research limitations/implications – The results draw attention to the differences between individuals when they evaluate firm-level constructs like EO. While the sample is based on a small number of firms, the findings sug.
The impact of mathematics anxiety on primary school children's working memory

While there is little doubt that there is a connection between mathematics anxiety and poor mathematical performance, the direction and nature of this connection is less clear. Some researchers (e.g. Ma and Xu, 2004) have contended that poor mathematical performance directly causes mathematics anxiety. Others see a more complex relationship in which mathematics anxiety may, in part at least, cause poor mathematical performance. One possible explanation for the latter view is that mathematics anxiety leads directly to a disruption of cognitive processes such as working memory, which leads directly to poorer mathematical performance (Hopko, Ashcraft, Gute, Ruggiero & Lewis, 1998). The working memory component most consistently associated with mathematics anxiety is the central executive (Ashcraft & Kreuse, 2007), although there is evidence (Miller & Bichsel, 2004) that visual-spatial working memory is impaired by mathematics anxiety. This study sought to explore the suggestion (Ashcraft & Kirk, 2001) that the mere presence of digits might trigger an anxious reaction among children reporting high levels of mathematics anxiety, leading to a decrement in working memory performance. Children of 9 and 10 years of age reported levels of mathematics anxiety and undertook two working memory tasks, one measuring central executive functioning and the other measuring visual-spatial working memory. Each working memory task was completed twice, once using letters as the to-be-remembered stimuli and again using digits. The differences in performance between the two versions of the tasks were compared with the reported levels of mathematics anxiety. The findings suggest that the presence of digits as the stimuli caused a decrement in working memory performance commensurate with the reported levels of mathematical anxiety.
One-sided Precoder Designs on Manifolds for Interference Alignment

Interference alignment (IA) is a technique recently shown to achieve the maximum degrees of freedom (DoF) of $K$-user interference channel. In this paper, we focus on the precoder designs on manifolds for IA. By restricting the optimization only at the transmitters' side, it will alleviate the overhead induced by alternation between the forward and reverse links significantly. Firstly a classical steepest descent (SD) algorithm in multi-dimensional complex space is proposed to achieve feasible IA. Then we reform the optimization problem on Stiefel manifold, and propose a novel SD algorithm based on this manifold with lower dimensions. Moreover, aiming at further reducing the complexity, Grassmann manifold is introduced to derive corresponding algorithm for reaching the perfect IA. Numerical simulations show that the proposed algorithms on manifolds have better convergence performance and higher system capacity than previous methods, also achieve the maximum DoF.
REAL-TIME SEISMOLOGY AND EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE MITIGATION

■ Abstract Real-time seismology refers to a practice in which seismic data are collected and analyzed quickly after a significant seismic event, so that the results can be effectively used for postearthquake emergency response and early warning. As the technology of seismic instrumentation, telemetry, computers, and data storage facility advances, the real-time seismology for rapid postearthquake notification is essentially established. Research for early warning is still underway. Two approaches are possible: (a) regional warning and (b) on-site (or site-specific) warning. In (a), the traditional seismological method is used to locate an earthquake, determine the magnitude, and estimate the ground motion at other sites. In (b), the beginning of the ground motion (mainly P wave) observed at a site is used to predict the ensuing ground motion at the same site. An effective approach to on-site warning is discussed in light of earthquake rupture physics.
Bias Crime and Minority Threat

Beginning in the 1980s, the term hate crime became part of the research canon of criminologists across the United States. Researchers have examined the characteristics of hate crime victims, offenders, and offenses. However, little is known about the context of hate crime, and more specifically about the ways that the changing demographics of the United States have contributed to hate crime. The dissertation examines the relationship between these demographic shifts and the trend in hate crime from 2000 to 2007 through the use of population averaged panel models. These models assess changes over time and across place in the number of hate crimes in a state as a function of changing demographic, economic, and political conditions. The findings show that there is considerable variation in anti-Black, antiHispanic, and anti-Gay/Lesbian hate crime across states and over time. These differing trends can be explained by changing demographic patterns as well as the political mobilization and visibility of minority groups. However, the results also suggest that much of the trend in hate crime is explained by the reporting practices of the differing states. As such the results indicate a need for policies to strengthen the reporting practices of law enforcement organizations and encourage reporting by the victims of these types of crimes. Additionally, the results suggest that there is a growing need for better data for the further examination of these questions. Stacey, Michele, 2010, UMSL, p. ii
Political cycles in a small open economy and the effect of economic integration: evidence from Cyprus

This paper examines whether partisan politics and opportunistic government behavior generate political cycles in a small open economy, and, if so, whether such effects survive under increased economic integration. We discuss evidence drawn from Cyprus for the period 1978-2006. The empirical analysis extends the work of Alesina et al. (1997) to accommodate the special features of the Cypriot economy in a controlled environment era and follows a more technical econometric approach to ensure that our estimations will not draw misleading inferences. The results are in line with the rational partisan model and are similar to the ones obtained for other countries. On the other hand, the findings for Cyprus support also the existence of an electoral cycle in fiscal policy and reject the one in monetary policy. We argue that the unique politico-economic profile of a country is crucial for the empirical success of different theories. Furthermore, we find that the reported effects do not persist in the run-u to EU accession and ERM II participation. The implementation of several structural reforms and the Maastricht criteria seem to affect governments' ability to influence the domestic economy.
Asymptotic Analysis of Loss Probabilities in GI/M/m/n Queueing Systems as n Increases to Infinity

Abstract The paper studies asymptotic behavior of the loss probability for the GI/M/m/n queueing system as n increases to infinity. The approach of the paper is based on applications of classic results of Takács [24] and the Tauberian theorem with remainder of Postnikov [17] associated with the recurrence relation of convolution type. The main result of the paper is associated with asymptotic behavior of the loss probability. Specifically it is shown that in some cases (precisely described in the paper) where the load of the system approaches 1 from the left and n increases to infinity, the loss probability of the GI/M/m/n queue becomes asymptotically independent of the parameter m.
The dependence of plasma density in the topside ionosphere on the solar activity level

Abstract. In this paper, the ten-year (1996–2005) total ion density N i measurements from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft in the morning and evening (09:30 and 21:30 LT) sectors have been analyzed to explore the dependence of plasma densities in the topside ionosphere at middle and low latitudes on the solar activity level. Results indicate that there is a strong solar activity dependence of DMSP N i at 848 km altitude, which has latitudinal and seasonal features. The plasma density in the topside ionosphere has an approximately linear dependence on daily F107 and a strongly nonlinear dependence on SEM/SOHO EUV, such that the change rate of N i becomes greater with increasing solar EUV. This is quite different from the dependence of N i near the F-Region peak ( Nm F2), at which the rate of change of Nm F2 decreases with increasing solar EUV. The rate of change of N i at the DMSP altitude is greatest in the latitude range where N i is greatest during high solar activity. We suggest that this greater rate of change (or amplification effect) of N i at the DMSP altitude is mainly a consequence of the solar activity variations of the topside scale height. The changes in the height of the F-Region peak ( hm F 2 ) and the density Nm F2 play a secondary role.