Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimizing Prediction Intervals by Tuning Random Forest via Meta-Validation

Recent studies have shown that tuning prediction models increases prediction accuracy and that Random Forest can be used to construct prediction intervals. However, to our best knowledge, no study has investigated the need to, and the manner in which one can, tune Random Forest for optimizing prediction intervals { this paper aims to fill this gap. We explore a tuning approach that combines an effectively exhaustive search with a validation technique on a single Random Forest parameter. This paper investigates which, out of eight validation techniques, are beneficial for tuning, i.e., which automatically choose a Random Forest configuration constructing prediction intervals that are reliable and with a smaller width than the default configuration. Additionally, we present and validate three meta-validation techniques to determine which are beneficial, i.e., those which automatically chose a beneficial validation technique. This study uses data from our industrial partner (Keymind Inc.) and the Tukutuku Research Project, related to post-release defect prediction and Web application effort estimation, respectively. Results from our study indicate that: i) the default configuration is frequently unreliable, ii) most of the validation techniques, including previously successfully adopted ones such as 50/50 holdout and bootstrap, are counterproductive in most of the cases, and iii) the 75/25 holdout meta-validation technique is always beneficial; i.e., it avoids the likely counterproductive effects of validation techniques.
Category Activation Model: A Spreading Activation Network Model of Subcategory Positioning When Categorization Uncertainty Is High

We develop a spreading activation model, which we call the category activation model, to predict where within a category structure consumers are likely to position a subcategory that they have created to accommodate a new hybrid product. Based on this model, we hypothesize that the probability that an individual will position a new category subordinate to a particular category i is proportional to the relative number of categories that are already subordinate to i. We report the results of two studies that support this hypothesis and provide evidence that accessibility is an underlying mechanism.
Sprint Acceleration Mechanics: The Major Role of Hamstrings in Horizontal Force Production

Recent literature supports the importance of horizontal ground reaction force (GRF) production for sprint acceleration performance. Modeling and clinical studies have shown that the hip extensors are very likely contributors to sprint acceleration performance. We experimentally tested the role of the hip extensors in horizontal GRF production during short, maximal, treadmill sprint accelerations. Torque capabilities of the knee and hip extensors and flexors were assessed using an isokinetic dynamometer in 14 males familiar with sprint running. Then, during 6-s sprints on an instrumented motorized treadmill, horizontal and vertical GRF were synchronized with electromyographic (EMG) activity of the vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, biceps femoris, and gluteus maximus averaged over the first half of support, entire support, entire swing and end-of-swing phases. No significant correlations were found between isokinetic or EMG variables and horizontal GRF. Multiple linear regression analysis showed a significant relationship (P = 0.024) between horizontal GRF and the combination of biceps femoris EMG activity during the end of the swing and the knee flexors eccentric peak torque. In conclusion, subjects who produced the greatest amount of horizontal force were both able to highly activate their hamstring muscles just before ground contact and present high eccentric hamstring peak torque capability.
Increased airway closure is a determinant of airway hyperresponsiveness

In order to investigate whether increased airway closure is a component of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), airway closure was compared during induced bronchoconstriction in 62 asthmatic, 41 nonasthmatic nonobese (control) and 20 nonasthmatic obese (obese) subjects. Airway closure and airway narrowing were measured by spirometry as percentage change in forced vital capacity (%ΔFVC) and change in forced expiratory ratio (ΔFER), respectively. Multiple regression analyses were used to assess the determinants of AHR, assessed by the dose response slope (DRS). The DRS was significantly increased in asthmatics compared with controls but did not differ between obese and controls. The spirometric predictors of logDRS were baseline FER, ΔFER, body mass index (BMI) and %ΔFVC. There was a negative relationship between BMI and logDRS in the regression, suggesting a protective effect. The present findings suggest that the extent of airway closure during induced bronchoconstriction is a determinant of airway hyperresponsiveness, independent of the level of airway narrowing. However, after adjusting for airway closure, obesity appears to protect against airway hyperresponsiveness.
Lectinhistochemical observations on the bronchial glands and the goblet cells of the airway epithelium of marine diving mammals.

Carbohydrate components were investigated in the bronchial glands and goblet cells of two species of seals with different diving habits (Weddell seal, Crabeater seal). Bouin-fixed tissue was incubated with various fluorescein-iso-thiocyanate-conjugated lectins (WGA, RCA I, PNA, PHA I, HPA, GSA I, DBA, Con A, LFA, SBA, UEA I), additionally PAS- and HID-reactions as well as Alcian Blue stains were applied. The two species differ in respect of their carbohydrate histochemistry, e.g., the PAS reaction gives only a faint stain at the apical membrane in the bronchial glands of the Weddell seal, whereas in the Crabeater seal several cells give a positive reaction in the entire cytoplasm; or RCA I has only few binding sites at the apical membranes of the bronchial glandular cells of the Weddell seal whereas many cells of Crabeater bronchial glands react strongly positive. It is concluded that the secretory products of the bronchial glands of the long- and deep-diving Weddell seal are relatively poor in mucins, which is in contrast to other mammals studied so far.
Conjugal mobilization of streptococcal plasmid pMV158 between strains of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis

pMV158, a non-self-transmissible plasmid encoding tetracycline resistance, was conjugally transferred from Enterococcus faecalis JH203 to Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis IL1403. This transfer appeared to be dependent on the cotransfer of the conjugative plasmids pAM beta 1 or pIP501. Intraspecies conjugal transfer of pMV158 also occurred in strain IL1403. In contrast to the transfer from E. faecalis, transfer in IL1403 did not require the presence of a conjugative plasmid in the donor strain but, rather, appeared to be dependent on putative chromosomal functions in strain IL1403. The transfer of pMV158 from strain IL1403 required the presence of an active pMV158-encoded protein, which showed homology to the Pre (plasmid recombination enzyme) proteins encoded by several small plasmids extracted from Staphylococcus aureus, such as pT181.
Studies in subjective probability l: Prediction of random events

When students are asked to predict the outcome of a random event, where all alternatives are equally probable (lotteries), they tend to choose central, “representative” values, and avoid extreme ones. In ten informal experiments, it is shown how this pattern of choices is influenced by various procedural and structural changes in the basic task. The results show that guessing behavior can be described as a kind of absolute judgment, subject to grouping, anchoring and context effects. Of the two general prediction heuristics originally proposed by Kahneman & Tversky (1973), “representativeness” applies better than “availability”. In fact, a major strategy of guessing is apparently to eschew numbers with prominent, “non-random” properties, which at the same time are highly available to the subjects.
Peer Leadership in Sport: Links with Friendship, Peer Acceptance, Psychological Characteristics, and Athletic Ability

The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend the work of Glenn and Horn (1993) by examining relationships between peer leadership in sport and social, psychological, and ability characteristics. The sample consisted of 71 female and 67 male high-school soccer players and their coaches. Players completed questionnaires measuring social (peer acceptance and friendship quality) and psychological (perceived competence, instrumentality, and expressiveness) variables, and leadership behavior for self and teammates. Coaches assessed each player on leadership behavior and soccer ability. For female athletes, all psychosocial variables were predictive of self-ratings of leadership, while coach and teammate ratings were related to ability only. For male athletes, all psychosocial variables and ability were related to self-ratings and teammate ratings of peer leadership, while coaches' ratings were related primarily to ability. These results are discussed with regard to social exchange theory and commonalities among peer relationship variables (acceptance, friendship, leadership).
The Effectiveness of Jigsaw II on Prospective Elementary School Teachers

Jigsaw is a well‐known and frequently used technique in cooperative learning. As part of ongoing studies to develop the technique, this research concentrates on exploring its use with prospective elementary school teachers (PTs). In order to establish PTs' views regarding Jigsaw and its effective on their academic success a proficiency test and questionnaire were administered and observations were made. Eighty‐one PTs from the Elementary Education Department at Cukurova University attending a math teaching course (MTC) participated. Forty‐five of these participants were in the experimental group and 36 in the control group. Findings show that Jigsaw II had a positive effect (effect size = 1.06) on PTs' academic success as well as on their views regarding the technique itself.
Precise radial velocities of giant stars. III. Spectroscopic stellar parameters

Context. A radial velocity survey of about 380 G and K giant stars is ongoing at Lick observatory. For each star we have a high signal to noise ratio template spectrum, which we use to determine spectroscopic stellar parameters. Aims. The aim of this paper is to present spectroscopic stellar parameters, i.e. effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity and rotational velocity for our sample of G and K giant stars. Methods. Effective temperatures, surface gravities and metallicities are determined from the equivalent width of iron lines, by imposing excitation and ionisation equilibrium through stellar atmosphere models. Rotational velocities are determined from the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of moderate spectral lines. A calibration between the FWHM and total broadening (rotational velocity and macro turbulence) is obtained from stars in common between our sample and the sample from Gray (1989, ApJ, 347, 1021). Macro turbulence is determined from the macro turbulence vs. spectral type relations from Gray (2005, The Observation and Analysis of Stellar Photospheres). Results. The metallicity we derive is essentially equal to the literature values, while the effective temperature and surface gravity are slightly higher by 56 K and 0.15 dex, respectively. A method comparison is performed with 72 giants in common with Luck & Heiter (2007, AJ, 133, 2464), which shows that both methods give similar results. Our rotational velocities are comparable with those obtained by Gray (1989, ApJ, 347, 1021), but somewhat higher than those of de Medeiros & Mayor (1999, A&AS, 139, 433), which is consistent with the different diagnostics used to determine them. Conclusions. We are able to determine spectroscopic stellar parameters for about 380 G and K giant stars uniformly (112 stars are being analysed spectroscopically for the first time). For stars available in the literature, we find reasonable agreement between literature values and values determined in the present work. In addition, we show that the metallicity enhancement of companion hosting stars might also be valid for giant stars, with the planet hosting giants being 0.13 ± 0.03 dex (i.e. 35 ± 10%) more metal rich than our total sample of stars.
Reading‐disabled students with and without comorbid arithmetic, disability

Two subgroups of learning disabled students, reading disabled only (RD) and reading/arithmetic disabled (RAD), were contrasted at two age levels, 8 to 12 years old and 12 to 17 years old. At both age levels, RAD students were significantly poorer spellers and weaker on the Arithmetic and Coding subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) than RD‐only students. The younger subgroups were also differentiated by four other WISC‐R sub‐tests: Information, Similarities, Comprehension, and Block Design. The adolescent subgroups differed on the new Symbol Search subtest of the WISC‐III. The subgroups did not differ at either age level on phonological skills, memory tasks, naming speed, and picture vocabulary. Nor did they differ on parent ratings of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Evidence is presented that arithmetic disabled children fall relatively further behind with increasing age. A core weakness in reading and arithmetic disability is processing speed, and students wi.
Delays to reperfusion therapy in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: results from the AMI-QUEBEC Study

Background: Through the AMI-QUEBEC Study we sought to describe delays to reperfusion therapy for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and to identify factors associated with prolonged delays. Methods: We reviewed the charts of all consecutive patients with STEMI admitted to 17 hospitals in the province of Quebec in 2003 to obtain data on the time from presentation to reperfusion therapy. Data were available for 1189 (83.0%) of 1432 patients. Results: The median delay to reperfusion therapy was 32 minutes (first and third quartile [Q1, Q3] 20, 49) for 535 patients who received fibrinolytic therapy, 109 minutes (Q1, Q3 79, 150) for 455 patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at the initial hospital of presentation and 142 minutes (Q1, Q3 115, 194) for 199 patients who underwent primary PCI after an interhospital transfer. Patients who presented outside daytime working hours, those who received primary PCI and those who required interhospital transfer for primary PCI were less likely to receive reperfusion therapy within current recommended times (odds ratios [ORs] 0.49, 0.56 and 0.15, respectively). Increased age was associated with prolonged delays only among patients who received fibrinolytic therapy (OR for each 10-year increase in age 0.95, 95% credible interval [CrI] 0.93–0.99 for fibrinolytic therapy and 0.99, 95% CrI 0.95–1.05, for primary PCI). Interpretation: In 2003, many patients with STEMI in Quebec were not treated within the recommended times. Delays may be reduced by reorganizing pre-and in-hospital care for patients with STEMI to expedite delivery of reperfusion therapy.
Task Clustering and Gating for Bayesian Multitask Learning

Modeling a collection of similar regression or classiﬁcation tasks can be improved by making the tasks ‘learn from each other’. In machine learning, this subject is approached through ‘multitask learning’, where parallel tasks are modeled as multiple outputs of the same network. In multilevel analysis this is generally implemented through the mixed-effects linear model where a distinction is made between ‘ﬁxed effects’, which are the same for all tasks, and ‘random effects’, which may vary between tasks. In the present article we will adopt a Bayesian approach in which some of the model parameters are shared (the same for all tasks) and others more loosely connected through a joint prior distribution that can be learned from the data. We seek in this way to combine the best parts of both the statistical multilevel approach and the neural network machinery. The standard assumption expressed in both approaches is that each task can learn equally well from any other task. In this article we extend the model by allowing more differentiation in the similarities between tasks. One such extension is to make the prior mean depend on higher-level task characteristics. More unsupervised clustering of tasks is obtained if we go from a single Gaussian prior to a mixture of Gaussians. This can be further generalized to a mixture of experts architecture with the gates depending on task characteristics. All three extensions are demonstrated through application both on an artiﬁcial data set and on two real-world problems, one a school problem and the other involving single-copy newspaper sales.
A physical self-efficacy scale for children

The purpose of the study was to develop a physical self-efficacy scale to assess children’s perception of personal strength, speed, and coordinative abilities. A 6-item scale, titled Perceived Physical Ability Scale for Children, was presented to a sample of 1914 children, 997 girls and 917 boys, ranging in age from 8 to 10 years, drawn from 15 elementary schools representing different regions of Italy. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the data provided support for the internal validity and reliability of a single factor structure of the scale across sex and age categories. It is argued that the scale can be used for both research and applied purposes.
Resection of scrotal lymphedema.

Genital lymphedema is a functionally disabling and emotionally incapacitating entity, especially in the elderly population. Available English literature on the subject (scrotectomy) is scanty and needs to be augmented. Methods of reconstruction reported in the literature involve either lymph angioplasty or direct excision of the involved tissue with local tissue reconstruction.1–3 We report a case of congenital lymphedema in which partial scrotectomy with reconstruction of the scrotum by two (on either side) flaps was done with satisfactory result.
Evidence-based recommendations for the role of exercise in the management of osteoarthritis of the hip or knee--the MOVE consensus.

OBJECTIVES Exercise is an effective and commonly prescribed intervention for lower limb osteoarthritis (OA). Many unanswered questions remain, however, concerning the practical delivery of exercise therapy. We have produced evidence-based recommendations to guide health-care practitioners. METHODS A multidisciplinary guideline development group was formed from representatives of professional bodies to which OA is of relevance and other interested parties. Each participant contributed up to 10 propositions describing key clinical points regarding exercise therapy for OA of the hip or knee. Ten final recommendations were agreed by the Delphi technique. The research evidence for each was determined. A literature search was undertaken in the Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, PEDro, CINAHL and Cochrane databases. The methodological quality of each retrieved publication was assessed. Outcome data were abstracted and effect sizes calculated. The evidence for each recommendation was assessed and expert consensus highlighted by the allocation of two categories: (1) strength of evidence and (2) strength of recommendation. RESULTS The first round of the Delphi process produced 123 propositions. This was reduced to 10 after four rounds. These related to aerobic and strengthening exercise, group versus home exercise, adherence, contraindications and predictors of response. The literature search identified 910 articles; 57 intervention trials relating to knee OA, 9 to hip OA and 73 to adherence. The evidence to support each proposition is presented. CONCLUSION These are the first recommendations for exercise in hip and knee OA to clearly differentiate research evidence and expert opinion. Gaps in the literature are identified and issues requiring further study highlighted.
Detection of Audiovisual Speech Correspondences Without Visual Awareness

Mounting physiological and behavioral evidence has shown that the detectability of a visual stimulus can be enhanced by a simultaneously presented sound. The mechanisms underlying these cross-sensory effects, however, remain largely unknown. Using continuous flash suppression (CFS), we rendered a complex, dynamic visual stimulus (i.e., a talking face) consciously invisible to participants. We presented the visual stimulus together with a suprathreshold auditory stimulus (i.e., a voice speaking a sentence) that either matched or mismatched the lip movements of the talking face. We compared how long it took for the talking face to overcome interocular suppression and become visible to participants in the matched and mismatched conditions. Our results showed that the detection of the face was facilitated by the presentation of a matching auditory sentence, in comparison with the presentation of a mismatching sentence. This finding indicates that the registration of audiovisual correspondences occurs at an early stage of processing, even when the visual information is blocked from conscious awareness.
Primary Immune Reactions in Organ Cultures

Primary immune reactions were initiated and maintained in vitro. Spleen explants from mice treated with either phytohemagglutinin or adjuvant were stimulated to form hemagglutinins and hemolysins, whereas no treatment of spleen donors was necessary to invoke a "graft-versus-host" response which led to specific splenomegly.
Social Skills Instruction for Students With High-Incidence Disabilities: A School-Based Intervention to Address Acquisition Deficits

The purpose of this study was to examine the results of a prescriptive, classroom-based social skills intervention program for 7 students with high-incidence disabilities receiving services in a self-contained, special education classroom. Students participated in 12 hours of social skills training, led by a paraprofessional and a student teacher, during the course of the traditional school day. Outcome measures included direct observation of inappropriate classroom behavior and academic engaged time. In addition, the authors monitored behavioral points, which were a part of the existing classroom management plan, to assess students' responsiveness. Results revealed decreases in inappropriate classroom behavior and increases in academic engaged time for the majority of the participants. Despite the improvement in classroom behavior, as evidenced by direct observation data, changes were not evident in the behavioral points earned by the students. Teacher and students' perceptions of social validity of the intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes were mixed. Limitations of the study are discussed and directions for future investigations are offered.