Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Self‐perception of competencies in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

Research has demonstrated that, despite difficulties in multiple domains, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show a lack of awareness of these difficulties. A misunderstanding of poor competencies may make it difficult for individuals to adjust their behaviour in accordance with feedback and may lead to greater impairments over time. This study examined self‐perceptions of adolescents with ASD (n = 19) and typically developing (TD) mental‐age‐matched controls (n = 22) using actual performance on objective academic tasks as the basis for ratings. Before completing the tasks, participants were asked how well they thought they would do (pre‐task prediction). After completing each task, they were asked how well they thought they did (immediate post‐performance) and how well they would do in the future (hypothetical future post‐performance). Adolescents with ASD had more positively biased self‐perceptions of competence than TD controls. The ASD group tended to overestimate their performance on all ratings of self‐perceptions (pre‐task prediction, immediate, and hypothetical future post‐performance). In contrast, while the TD group was quite accurate at estimating their performance immediately before and after performing the task, they showed some tendency to overestimate their future performance. Future investigation is needed to systematically examine possible mechanisms that may be contributing to these biased self‐perceptions. Autism Res 2015, 8: 761–770. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
OPTIMAL BUS FARES

This paper is about optimal bus fares on buses under first-best conditions. Traffic congestion and the non-optimal pricing of gasoline, of parking, of railway journeys and so on are simply ignored. The paper attempts to find out what marginal cost pricing of bus services consists of. The right approach is to escape the implicit notion that the only costs which are relevant to optimization are those of the bus operators. The time-costs of the passengers must be included too, and the fares must be equated with marginal social costs. This paper follows the above approach but does not include in the analysis the time cost of getting to and from bus stops.
Center differences and outcomes of extremely low birth weight infants.

OBJECTIVE Previous multicenter studies have shown significant center differences in neonatal characteristics and morbidities. This study evaluated center differences in outcome at 18 to 22 months among extremely low birth weight (ELBW; 401-1000 g) infants after adjusting for demographics and antenatal interventions, and it identified neonatal interventions associated with outcome differences. METHODS We assessed the outcome of 2478 liveborn infants who were admitted in 1993 and 1994 to the 12 centers of the Neonatal Research Network of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; 1483 (60%) infants survived to 18 to 22 months, and 1151 (78%) had comprehensive evaluations. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify center differences and the association of 4 neonatal interventions--active resuscitation, postnatal steroids, ventilator treatment for < or =27 days, and full enteral feedings < or =24 days--with adverse outcomes (cerebral palsy, low Bayley scores, and neurodevelopmental impairment [NDI]), after adjusting for demographics and antenatal interventions. RESULTS Using bivariate analyses, significant center differences were identified for mortality, antenatal and postnatal interventions, social and environmental variables, neonatal morbidities, and neurodevelopmental outcomes for the 12 centers. After adjustment for maternal and infant demographics and antenatal interventions, the percentage of ELBW infants who had died or had NDI at 18 to 22 months ranged from 52% to 85%. Active resuscitation and postnatal steroids were associated with increases of NDI of 11.8% and 19.3%, whereas shorter ventilation support and shorter time to achieve full enteral feeds were associated with decreases in NDI of 20.7% and 17.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION There are large and disturbing differences among centers in outcomes at 18 to 22 months after adjusting for demographic and antenatal interventions. Center differences in postnatal interventions associated with differences in outcome can provide hypotheses for testing in clinical trials to improve outcome.
Early Predictors of Helpless Thoughts and Behaviors in Children: Developmental Precursors to Depressive Cognitions

Learned helplessness behavior and cognitions were assessed in 95 kindergarten-age children during a series of impossible puzzle trials followed by a solvable puzzle trial. Latent growth curve analysis revealed reliable individual differences in the trajectories of children's affect, motivation, and self-cognitions over time. Parents' reports of negative life events, harsh/negative parenting, and warm/positive parenting were associated with their children's learned helplessness behavioral trajectories and outcomes over the course of the puzzle trials. Results support speculations about the developmental origins of depressive explanatory or attributional style in children.
Single-Mode Design Guidelines for 19-Cell Double-Cladding Photonic Crystal Fibers

Yb-doped double-cladding photonic crystal fibers have become key components for power scaling in fiber laser systems, by providing many advantages, especially an ultra large effective area. The single-mode regime, which is a mandatory requirement for high quality laser beams, can be obtained in such large core active fibers only through a careful design. In this paper the cut-off properties of 19-cell photonic crystal fibers have been thoroughly investigated with the avoided-crossing approach, in order to find guidelines for the design of single-mode fibers. The air-hole diameter and the core refractive index have been changed, as well as the number of air-hole rings in the fiber inner cladding. Simulation results have shown that, regardless of the air-hole ring number, the guided-mode cut-off properties are strongly influenced by the main design parameters, especially by the core refractive index. In particular, a wider single-mode wavelength range can be obtained in 19-cell fibers with small air-holes and low core refractive index. Moreover, double-cladding photonic crystal fibers with larger inner-cladding provide better guided-mode cut-off properties, which can have positive effects on the amplification process in practical applications.
RX J0440.9 + 4431: a persistent Be/X-ray binary in outburst

The persistent Be/X-ray binary RXJ0440.9+4431 flared in 2010 and 2011 and has been followed by various X-ray facilities (Swift, RXTE, XMM-Newton, and INTEGRAL). We studied the source timing and spectral properties as a function of its X-ray luminosity to investigate the transition from normal to flaring activity and the dynamical properties of the system. We have determined the orbital period from the long-term Swift/BAT light curve, but our determinations of the spin-period are not precise enough to constrain any orbital solution. The source spectrum can always be described by a bulk-motion Comptonization model of black body seed photons attenuated by a moderate photoelectric absorption. At the highest luminosity, we measured a curvature of the spectrum, which we attribute to a significant contribution of the radiation pressure in the accretion process. This allows us to estimate that the transition from a bulk-motion-dominated flow to a radiatively dominated one happens at a luminosity of approx 2 10(exp 36) erg/ s. The luminosity dependency of the size of the black body emission region is found to be r(sub BB) varies as L(sub x) (exp 0.39 +/- 0.02). This suggests that either matter accreting onto the neutron star hosted in RXJ0440.9+4431 penetrates through closed magnetic field lines at the border of the compact object magnetosphere or that the structure of the Neutron star magnetic field is more complicated than a simple dipole close to the surface.
Partitioned Shopping Carts: Assortment Allocation Cues that Increase Fruit and Vegetable Purchases

Building on the notion of implied social norms, we propose that partitioning a shopping cart for targeted healthy foods (such as fruits and vegetables) may increase their sales. Two converging studies in grocery stores show that most shoppers purchased fruits and vegetables in quantities relative to the size of their allocated partition within a shopping cart. In addition, an online shopping study suggests that partitions are effective because they suggest purchase norms and not simply because they increase salience. Partitioning is a neglected tool with key implications for retailers and e-retailers who wish to stimulate sales in overlooked categories.
Abnormalities in Fractal Heart Rate Dynamics in Chagas Disease

Background and Methods: In order to study fractal HR dynamics in Chagas disease, we performed detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA)—along with analysis of power‐law β slope (β index) and standard deviation of N–N intervals (SDNN)—in edited and unedited (with ventricular premature beats — VPBs, only in DFA analysis) series of R‐R intervals from Holter monitoring of healthy controls (Group 0, n = 27) and Chagas disease patients with left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction >50% (Group 1, n = 137) and with LV ejection fraction <50% (Group 2, n = 23).
Report on New Methods for Representing and Interacting with Qualitative Geographic Information, Stage 2: Task Group 1 Core Re-engineering and Place-based Use Case

Abstract : This report documents Pennsylvania State University's (PSU) research on place-focused analysis of microblogs, specifically Twitter. The first section of the report identifies three categories of location information related to tweets: the location where a tweet originates, places mentioned in tweets, and the profile location of the tweeter. The report summarizes previous research on location information and contributes new insights resulting from additional PSU analysis. The second section of the report focuses on the visualization of place information. Place trees, place clouds, and place-coreferencing are introduced in the context of the SensePlace2 system. The third section of the report summarizes the SensePlace2 system architecture enhancements required to support the dynamic visualization of Twitter location information, including the development of an innovative user interface coordination mechanism and implementation of faceted search using Apache Solr.
HV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes and breast milk HIV-1 transmission.

BACKGROUND Breast-feeding by infants exposed to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) provides an opportunity to assess the role played by repeated HIV-1 exposure in eliciting HIV-1-specific immunity and in defining whether immune responses correlate with protection from infection. METHODS Breast-feeding infants born to HIV-1-seropositive women were assessed for HLA-selected HIV-1 peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte interferon (IFN)-gamma responses by means of enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) assays at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of age. Responses were deemed to be positive when they reached > or = 50 HIV-1-specific sfu/1 x 10(6) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and were at least twice those of negative controls. RESULTS A total of 807 ELISpot assays were performed for 217 infants who remained uninfected with HIV-1 at approximately 12 months of age; 101 infants (47%) had at least 1 positive ELISpot result (median, 78-170 sfu/1 x 10(6) PBMCs). The prevalence and magnitude of responses increased with age (P = .01 and P = .007, respectively); the median log(10) value for HIV-1-specific IFN-gamma responses increased by 1.0 sfu/1 x 10(6) PBMCs/month (P < .001) between 1 and 12 months of age. Of 141 HIV-1-uninfected infants with 1-month ELISpot results, 10 (7%) acquired HIV-1 infection (0/16 with positive vs. 10/125 [8%] with negative ELISpot results; P = .6). Higher values for log(10) HIV-1-specific spot-forming units at 1 month of age were associated with a decreased risk of HIV-1 infection, adjusted for maternal HIV-1 RNA level (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.09 [95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.72]). CONCLUSION . Breast-feeding HIV-1-exposed uninfected infants frequently had HIV-1-specific IFN-gamma responses. Greater early HIV-1-specific IFN-gamma responses were associated with decreased HIV-1 acquisition.
Factors explaining the rating of Microfinance Institutions

The growing relevance of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) has provoked the development of specialized MFI rating agencies that perform global risk assessments. In this paper we have conjectured different hypotheses pertaining to the relationship between financial indicators and the rating assigned. The hypotheses have been empirically tested, using MFIs accounting information and ratings from a leading agency. As expected, the larger, the more profitable, the more productive, and the less risky, achieved the better rating. This proves the usefulness of MFIs ratings for providers of funds. There is no observed relationship between social performance and rating. Given the social aim of MFIs, it is necessary to encourage rating agencies to engage in the development of social ratings. These social ratings should complement financial ratings, giving information about the accomplishment degree of the MFI social goals.
Individual differences in the cortisol-awakening response during the first two years of shift work: A longitudinal study in novice police officers

Cortisol acts as a critical biological intermediary through which chronic stressors like shift work impact upon multiple physiological, neuro-endocrine and hormonal functions. Therefore, the cortisol awakening response (CAR) is suggested as a prime index of shift work tolerance. Repeated assessments of the CAR (calculated as MnInc) in a group of 25 young novice police officers showed that in the interval between about 4 and 14 months after transitioning from regular day work to rotating shift work, mean values began to rise from baseline to significantly higher levels at about 14 months after they commenced shift work. Visual inspection of the individual trends revealed that a subgroup of 10 subjects followed a monotonically rising trend, whereas another 14 subjects, after an initial rise from about 4–14 months, reverted to a smaller, baseline level cortisol response at about 20 months after the start of shift work. If the initial increase in the cortisol response marks the development of a chronic stress response, the subsequent reversal to baseline levels in the subgroup of 14 participants might be indicative of a process of recovery, possibly the development of shift work tolerance.
O Impacto das Transações com Partes Relacionadas na Performance Operacional das Companhias Listadas na Bm&FBovespa

Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar o impacto das transacoes entre partes relacionadas na performance operacional das empresas brasileiras. Considerando-se as recentes alteracoes no cenario contabil brasileiro e a exigencia da evidenciacao detalhada das operacoes entre partes relacionadas a partir de 2008, utiliza-se uma amostra de empresas brasileiras listadas na Bolsa de Valores de Sao Paulo (BM&FBOVESPA) no periodo de 2008 e 2009. No caso das transacoes de compras, vendas e emprestimos obtidos com partes relacionadas os resultados encontrados indicam uma relacao positiva entre o montante destas transacoes e a performance operacional da empresa (mensurada pelo EBITDA). Adicionalmente, os resultados indicam que as transacoes de emprestimos obtidos entre partes relacionadas influenciam negativamente as metricas de performance das empresas (ROA e EBITDA).
Effect of Physical and Academic Stress on Illness and Injury in Division 1 College Football Players

Abstract Mann, JB, Bryant, KR, Johnstone, B, Ivey, PA, and Sayers, SP. Effect of physical and academic stress on illness and injury in division 1 college football players. J Strength Cond Res 30(1): 20–25, 2016—Stress-injury models of health suggest that athletes experience more physical injuries during times of high stress. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of increased physical and academic stress on injury restrictions for athletes (n = 101) on a division I college football team. Weeks of the season were categorized into 3 levels: high physical stress (HPS) (i.e., preseason), high academic stress (HAS) (i.e., weeks with regularly scheduled examinations such as midterms, finals, and week before Thanksgiving break), and low academic stress (LAS) (i.e., regular season without regularly scheduled academic examinations). During each week, we recorded whether a player had an injury restriction, thereby creating a longitudinal binary outcome. The data were analyzed using a hierarchical logistic regression model to properly account for the dependency induced by the repeated observations over time within each subject. Significance for regression models was accepted at p ⩽ 0.05. We found that the odds of an injury restriction during training camp (HPS) were the greatest compared with weeks of HAS (odds ratio [OR] = 2.05, p = 0.0003) and LAS (OR = 3.65, p < 0.001). However, the odds of an injury restriction during weeks of HAS were nearly twice as high as during weeks of LAS (OR = 1.78, p = 0.0088). Moreover, the difference in injury rates reported in all athletes during weeks of HPS and weeks of HAS disappeared when considering only athletes that regularly played in games (OR = 1.13, p = 0.75) suggesting that HAS may affect athletes that play to an even greater extent than HPS. Coaches should be aware of both types of stressors and consider carefully the types of training methods imposed during times of HAS when injuries are most likely.
Therapist behavior as a determinant for client noncompliance: a paradox for the behavior modifier.

G. R. Patterson and M. S. ForgatchOregon Social Learning Center, Eugene, OregonThe immediate impact of therapist behavior on client noncompliance was examinedin two studies. Observation systems describing client and therapist behavior wereused to code videotaped therapy sessions. In the first study, the therapist behaviors"teach" and "confront" were associated with significant increases in the likelihoodof client noncompliant reactions. Therapist behaviors "facilitate" and "support"were followed by reliable decreases in client noncompliance. In the second study,the therapist behaviors "teach" and "confront" were manipulated in a series ofsingle-subject ABAB reversal designs. The experiment demonstrated that changesin therapist behaviors produced increases in client noncompliance.For the present studies, noncompliance waspresumed to be a ubiquitous behavior for chil-dren and adults alike. It is paradoxical thatcertain situations (e.g., parent training) de-signed to help the client may actually stimulatethe client to work against the therapist. Anal-yses of videotaped parent training sessions byChamberlain, Patterson, Reid, Kavanagh, andForgatch (1984) showed that the average rateof parent noncompliant behavior was . 17 re-sponses per minute during the initial stages oftreatment. This increased significantly to morethan . 30 responses per minute during the mid-stages of treatment. These findings led to thehypothesis that therapists' efforts to changeparent behavior may function as an importantdeterminant for parent noncompliance duringtreatment. The present studies tested this hy-pothesis.
Volumes for Consistent Multi-Resolution Volume Rendering

This paper presents a new multi-resolution volume representation called sparse pdf volumes, which enables consistent multi-resolution volume rendering based on probability density functions (pdfs) of voxel neighborhoods. These pdfs are defined in the 4D domain jointly comprising the 3D volume and its 1D intensity range. Crucially, the computation of sparse pdf volumes exploits data coherence in 4D, resulting in a sparse representation with surprisingly low storage requirements. At run time, we dynamically apply transfer functions to the pdfs using simple and fast convolutions. Whereas standard low-pass filtering and down-sampling incur visible differences between resolution levels, the use of pdfs facilitates consistent results independent of the resolution level used. We describe the efficient out-of-core computation of large-scale sparse pdf volumes, using a novel iterative simplification procedure of a mixture of 4D Gaussians. Finally, our data structure is optimized to facilitate interactive multi-resolution volume rendering on GPUs.
FOLFIRINOX-Based Neoadjuvant Therapy in Borderline Resectable or Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer: A Meta-Analytical Review of Published Studies

Objective The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy can enable surgical resection of borderline resectable or unresectable pancreatic cancer (PC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the multiagent 5-fluorouracil + oxaliplatin + irinotecan + leucovorin (FOLFIRINOX) regimen as a neoadjuvant treatment for PC. Methods Studies in which FOLFIRINOX with or without radiotherapy was given before surgery to patients with borderline resectable or unresectable PC were analyzed using a meta-analytical approach. The primary outcomes were resection rate and radical (R0) resection rate. Data were expressed as weighted pooled proportions with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Thirteen studies, with a total of 253 patients, were included in this meta-analysis. After undergoing the treatment, 43% (95% CI, 32.8–53.8) of patients were resected and 39.4% (95% CI, 32.4–46.9) underwent R0 resection (85% of surgical specimens). In particular, among borderline resectable PCs, R0 resection was possible in 63.5% (95% CI, 49%–76%) of the cases. The rate of R0 resection in unresectable PCs was 22.5% (95% CI, 13.3–35.4). Conclusions This meta-analysis shows that down-staging after neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX-based therapy is noticeable in patients with borderline resectable/unresectable PC, with a total R0 resection rate of 40%.
Evolving Patterns of Payment Methods in Turkish Foreign Trade

Serving the global marketplace brings many risks to the firms that they may not have on the domestic side. Apart from financing, trade finance mechanisms assist exporters and importers to mitigate or reduce their risks associated with doing business internationally. The present paper sheds lights on the structure and evaluation of payment methods in international trade as well as their changing composition due to 2008-2009 global financial crisis using a unique bilateral trade finance data from Turkey with 206 countries over the period 2002-2012 at the 2-digit level of ISIC Revision 3. Three key results emerge. First, Turkey’s exports are mainly financed via open account method while the majority of its imports were executed via cash-in advance method. Second, the shares of inter-firm trade finance (open account and cash-in advance) in Turkey’s foreign trade dramatically increased over the period 2002-2012, while the shares of the intermediate trade finance (cash against documents and letter of credit) decreased substantially. Finally, the evidence show that both exporters and importers started to use cash-in advance method, the safest method of payment, more intensively than other methods shortly after the global recession in 2008. Overall, the patterns presented in this paper highlight the fact that Turkish traders are not able to set payment terms that are highly favorable to themselves and bear all risks associated with international trade transactions.