Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Physiological Approach to Affective Computing

Psychologists, cognitive scientists and neuroscientists have studied emotion for more than a century (Darwin, 1872). Only recently has computer science research shown an increasing interest in incorporating emotion into computers (Picard, 1997; Whang et al., 2003). Given that the computers are built to operate logically and computing work is intended to be rational, however, this interest is rather challenging and controversial (Hollnagel, 2003). As technological developments progress at a rapid pace, computers are ubiquitous and disappearing. They become regarded even as ‘social agents’ rather than just a machine (Marakas et al., 2000). As a result, it is deemed that communication with computers should be more natural and friendlier than the traditional one chiefly relying on hand driven movement using the mouse or the keyboard. Efforts are underway to improve the interface with more intrinsic medium through voice, face expression or gesture and computers are getting human-like (Marsic et al., 2000). Even so it is still far short of what is needed. What we feel conveys an essential context in the human-human communication and computers with the capability to recognize and express the emotion is definitely friendlier and more of human-like. There exist some theoretical foundations what brings up certain emotion and somatic changes. It is certain, however, that emotion naturally arises in our daily life when we encounter a certain situation or make a risky decision. Emotion affects many different aspects of human behavior, cognition and decision making (Cowie et al., 2001), often leading to some heuristic shortcuts and cognitive biases (De Martino et al., 2006). Surely it is a challenging task to build computers to serve the users mechanically, intelligently or even further emotionally. Recent research has reported some cases where emotion aware computing may be useful. For example, people like to signal their emotional state in email or SMS with so-called emoticons (Curran & Casey, 2006). Emotion recognition also has a part to play in tutoring, remote education (Nasoz & Lisetti, 2006) and computer entertainment such as game (Mandryk & Atkins, 2007). Despite the role of emotion that has been shown in the literature, it is not clear the effect of emotion on the human computer interaction (HCI). Many studies have analyzed the artificial data that were taken from the subjects off-line and used them to recognize what emotional states they were in. On the other hand, our approach is made with on-line data that were read from the sensors attached on the mouse. This physiological data were
Asset Prices in Experimental General Equilibrium Economies ∗

In this paper we demonstrate how an experimental general equilibrium economies can be implemented into a laboratory setting in a simplified, timeand cost-efficient manner. We then introduce an asset market to study speculative behaviour within a general equilibrium setting where subjects’ objective is to maximize their utility from consumption and leisure. Subjects are endowed with units of an asset but are not obliged to participate in the asset market. Asset prices consistently grow above fundamental value and do not decline significantly with learning. Finally, we introduce a policy preventing subjects from borrowing to buy assets. The borrowing constraint does not have any effect on asset prices. Asset market activity has no significant effects on the real economy in either treatment. JEL classifications: C92, E2, E52, D50, D91
Characterization of Polish Phytophthora lacustris Isolates Obtained from Water Environments

P. lacustris sp. nov. (formerly known as Phytophthora taxon Salixsoil) was first isolated in 1972 in the UK and then in many other European countries, including Poland. The aim of this work was a morphological, physiological, and genetic characterization of the P. lacustris isolates by means of the daily growth rate, mycelium morphology, and generative and vegetative structures, depending on the temperature of incubation and growth media. In addition, the ability to colonize willow shoots and leaves was estimated. Out of 114 isolates of P. lacustris obtained from water habitats located near plant nurseries in central and southeastern Poland in 2007-10 that were identified on the basis of molecular tests which showed high diversity in colony growth patterns and daily growth rates, 10 groups were separated by means of Duncan’s test. Representatives of these 10 groups together with three reference isolates – P. lacustris P245 as the holotype, P. gonapodyides CBS 117380 as a specimen most closely related phenotypically to P. lacustris, and P. cactorum as a positive control of forest trees’ pathogen – were researched. Great heterogeneity in the growth rates and morphology of mycelium, as well as in the structure of zoosporangia and hyphal swellings, were observed. Moreover, the isolates differed in their ability to colonize the willow leaves and shoots in the in vitro tests. Some correlation may be found between the daily growth rates and colonizing abilities, and between the daily growth rate and the dimension of the sporangia. Also, a large genotypic variation between the isolates based on the fingerprint patterns generated by molecular techniques (RAPD and ISSR) was obtained.
CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL SPECTRUM OF ORAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA AT A PUBLIC SECTOR HEALTH FACILITY

Background: Oral epithelial cancer is one of the most common malignant diseases in the world. Over 90% of the oral cancers are oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC), which arise from epithelial lining of oral cavity. It is the second most frequent cancer in Pakistan. The aim of this study was to assess the demographic and clinicopathological features of oral cancer patients reporting to Department of Pathology at Post Graduate Medical Institute, Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: This cross – sectional descriptive study was done from January 2013 to December 2013. Demographic, clinical and pathological details of cases diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma were collected. Anneroth et al, multifactorial grading system was used to perform histological grading. SPSS version 19.0 was used to analyze the data. Results: Of the total 57 cases majority of patients were in their 4th and 5th decades of life with male predilection as male to female ratio was 1.3:1. Major risk factors reported were smoking (n = 33) and chewing tobacco (n = 18). Majority of oral cancer cases were seen in age group 41 – 50 year. Buccal mucosa was the most commonly affected site followed by tongue. The most common clinical complaint was ulceration and well differentiated sqaumous cell carcinoma appeared as the major histopathological type. Conclusions: Oral cancer is a common malignancy in Pakistan with tendency of developing among males and at an early age. This study lays emphasis on awareness about the role of various risk factors such as tobacco and related products.
User Acceptance of Technology and Success in IS Implementation

To achieve business effects from IT investments it is important to understand the forces of user acceptance. This paper evaluates how useful the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) is to explain success within information system implementation. The research has been done by investigating the user acceptance as success measure within the major IS implementation research streams, then comparing these success measures with the constructs of the UTAUT. The findings of this paper are that the UTAUT is useful in explaining the success measures of the different streams in terms of user acceptance, but not the interaction between the measures in a process view. Thus, it fails partly in explaining all success dimensions of IS implementation.
Modulating effect of the piperine, the main alkaloid from Piper nigrum Linn., on murine B lymphocyte function

ABSTRACT. Bernardo A.R. , da Rocha J.D. B. , de Lima M.E. F. , Decote-Ricardo D. , Pinto-da-Silva L.H. , Pecanha L.M. T. & Danelli M. dasG.M. Modulating effect of the piperine, the main alkaloid from Piper nigrum Linn. , on murine B lymphocyte function. [Efeito modulador da piperina, principal alcaloide da Piper nigrum Linn. , sobre a funcao de linfocitos B murinos. ] Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinaria, 37(3):209-216, 2015. Departamento de Microbiologia e Imunologia Veterinaria, Instituto de Veterinaria, Universidade Federal Rural de Janeiro, Campus Seropedica, BR 465 Km 7, Seropedica, RJ 23890-000, Brazil. E-mail: danelli @ufrrj.br Piperine is the main alkaloid of black and long peppers and it is conventionally used as immune-enhancers in Indian system of traditional medicine. The main of this study was evaluated for the first time the effect of piperine on B cells functions in vitro and its effects on humoral immune response to T-dependent and T-independent antigens. Different concentrations of piperine (1 µM, 3 µM and 15 µM) were assayed on B cells purified from BALB/c spleen cells and evaluated its effects on proliferation, IgM secretion and expression of CD86 on murine B cells. At 15 µM piperine was able to inhibit the proliferative response induced by LPS and α-IgM antibody and inhibited the secretion IgM antibody in vitro. Also, piperine at 3 µM and 15 µM reduced the CD86 expression on B cells stimulated with LPS and α-IgM antibody in vitro. However, piperine 2.5 and 4.5 mg/Kg did not modulated antibody production for T-independet (TNP-Ficoll) in vivo.
Measuring Selected M-Texting Addiction Indicators with Gender and Self-Esteem

The unprecedented level of both frustration and sensation-seeking behaviour among a majority of tertiary students has contributed to the mobile-device becoming a universal social destination for young people. Notwithstanding this fact, as the colossal explosion of mobile devices continues to proliferate, so do their abuses and various other problematic behaviours. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to identify the underlying M-texting addiction indicators that are pertinent among students within a South African university. The secondary purpose of this study was to investigate whether demographic and psychological attributes of individuals were related to M-texting addiction. A quantitative survey was conducted on a probability sample of 187 tertiary students. Exploratory factor analysis identified four M-texting addiction indicators. Reliability assessment using Cronbach alpha coefficients indicated adequate internal reliability and homogeneity among the scale items (α > 0.70). From the study, it emerged that there was statistical and practical significance between the withdrawal, dependence and productivity loss dimensions with gender (p DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n23p489
Effect of substrate pretreatments on the atomic layer deposited Al2O3 passivation quality

The authors show here that the passivation quality of Al2O3 is highly sensitive to the surface condition prior to the atomic layer deposition, affecting especially the thermal stability of the film. Pretreatments like diluted HCl bath or preheating at 200 °C both improved significantly the passivation quality and thermal stability of the films. In addition, the authors observed that a thin chemical SiO2 layer resulting from diluted HCl solves the blistering problem often encountered in H2O based atomic layer deposited process. Finally, the authors show that the chemical oxide protects the surface from contaminants, enabling long storage times in a dirty ambient between the cleaning and the film deposition.
Analyzing the Level of Accessibility of Public Urban Green Spaces to Different Socially Vulnerable Groups of People

This study estimates the factors affecting socially vulnerable groups’ demand for and accessibility levels to green public spaces in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Dhaka is a high-density city with one of the lowest levels of green space per capita in the world. Dhaka has just 8.5% of tree-covered lands, while an ideal city requires at least 20% of green space. Urban public green space provides a healthy environment to city dwellers as well as ecological soundness. This study aims to examine the effects of population density and size of a community area (Thana) on the social demand for and accessibility to green parks. To determine the socially vulnerable group demand index, this study used demographic data from the National Population and Housing Census 2011 conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. This study used geographical data extracted from Google Earth Pro to measure accessibility levels, and additionally analyzed geographical data with ArcGIS 10.0 and Google Earth Pro. We drew radius circles using Free Map Tools to measure time-distance weighted scores from community areas to urban green spaces. The results show that the large population size of socially vulnerable groups creates very high demand at the score of 0.61 for urban green public parks and small-sized, high-density community areas generate very good accessibility at 2.01% to green public spaces. These findings are highly useful to policymakers, urban planners, landscape engineers, and city governments to make a compact city sustainable, inclusive, and resilient. Moreover, the notion of a “smart city” might be a smart solution in order to manage Dhaka Megacity sustainably in this modern technological age.
The stock genetic structure of two Sparidae species , Diplodus vulgaris and Lithognathus mormyrus , in the Mediterranean Sea

Polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of allozymes was used to investigate the intraspecies genetic variation and the genetic stock structure of Diplodus vulgarisandLithognathus mormyrus captured from eight localities in the Mediterranean Sea. Twenty-two and 20 putative enzyme-coding loci were examined, respectively, in D. vulgarisandL. mormyrus. Polymorphic loci at the 95% level were used to assess the allozyme variability in D. vulgaris (AAT-2∗, EST-1∗, GLDH∗, PEPB-2∗, PGI-2∗, PGM∗, SDH∗) andL. mormyrus(AAT-2∗, EST-1∗, GLDH∗, MDH-2∗, PGI-2∗, PGM∗). The proportion of polymorphic loci in both species ranged from 0.31 ( D. vulgaris) to 0.30 (L. mormyrus), and the observed and expected mean heterozygosity varied between 0.082 and 0.093 ( D. vulgaris) and between 0.069 and 0.072 ( L. mormyrus). The mean value of observed heterozygosity in D. vulgaris showed a deficit of heterozygosites, thereby indicating a Wahlund effect in the samples examined. Significant genetic differentiation (mean value of θ = 0.013, p < 0.005) was found inD. vulgaris indicating an intraspecific genetic substructure among the samples examined, whereas the mean value of θ = 0.001, p > 0.05 found inL. mormyrusshowed a high degree of genetic homogeneity. The results showed the presence of distinct subpopulations of D. vulgaris among the sampled sites, and suggested that analysis of allozymes may provide important information on the genetic stock structure of these two sparids to ensure sustainable management of these species. © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Composite Difference-Max Programs for Modern Statistical Estimation Problems

Many modern statistical estimation problems are defined by three major components: a statistical model that postulates the dependence of an output variable on the input features; a loss function measuring the error between the observed output and the model predicted output; and a regularizer that controls the overfitting and/or variable selection in the model. We study the sampling version of this generic statistical estimation problem where the model parameters are estimated by empirical risk minimization, which involves the minimization of the empirical average of the loss function at the data points weighted by the model regularizer. In our setup we allow all three component functions discussed above to be of the difference-of-convex (dc) type and illustrate them with a host of commonly used examples, including those in continuous piecewise affine regression and in deep learning (where the activation functions are piecewise affine). We describe a nonmonotone majorization-minimization (MM) algorithm for solving the unified nonconvex, nondifferentiable optimization problem which is formulated as a specially structured composite dc program of the pointwise max type, and present convergence results to a directional stationary solution. An efficient semismooth Newton method is proposed to solve the dual of the MM subproblems. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and the superiority of continuous piecewise affine regression over the standard linear model.
Heritage Site Visitation and Attitudes toward African American Heritage Preservation

Understanding disparities in visitation rates to heritage sites and patterns in public support for preservation and remembrance of African American heritage could greatly inform decision-making and management philosophies of park/historic site operators, preservationists, and other entrepreneurs. Informed by critical theory, this study examined heritage site visitation and attitudes toward remembrance and preservation of African American heritage among North Carolina (NC) residents. Telephone interviews were completed by 843 residents investigating their heritage site visitation patterns and support for African American heritage. The results suggest that race, age, education, income, frequency of travel, and voting record impact variation in heritage site visitation among NC residents while race, age, education, the presence of retirees or children in the household, voting record, and identification as a Southerner influenced attitudes toward African American preservation. This study contributes to the critical analysis of how patterns in heritage site visitation and public support of preservation perpetuate racialization of the travel experience.
THE LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES OF THAI STUDENTS : A CASE STUDY OF NONG KHAI , NORTHEAST OF THAILAND

Language learning strategies (LLSs) enable ESL/EFL learners not only to acquire language effectively but also to improve their proficiency and autonomous learning. The purpose of the present study is to examine the frequency of use of language learning strategies employed by 353 students studying at Khon Kaen University, Nong Khai Campus (KKU, NKC) in the Northeast of Thailand, as well as the relationship between the use of language learning strategies and the students’ perceived enjoyment of English learning. A language learning strategy questionnaire (LLSQ) was conducted. The data obtained through the questionnaires was analysed using descriptive statistics, the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Chisquare tests. The results indicate significant variations according to the students’ stated enjoyment of English learning. Students who said they enjoyed learning English at the higher level reported employing significantly greater numbers of overall strategies than those who expressed lower levels of enjoyment while learning English. The pedagogical implications of the study are presented and discussed.
Statistical properties of unimodal maps: physical measures, periodic orbits and pathological laminations

In this work, we relate the geometry of chaotic attractors of typical analytic unimodal maps to the behavior of the critical orbit. Our main result is an explicit formula relating the combinatorics of the critical orbit with the exponents of periodic orbits. This connection between topological and smooth invariants is obtained through an analysis of the physical measure. Since the exponents of periodic orbits form a complete set of smooth invariants in this setting, we have ``typical geometric rigidity'' of the dynamics of such chaotic attractors. This unexpected result implies that the lamination structure of spaces of analytic maps (obtained by the partition into topological conjugacy classes, see \cite {ALM}) has an absolutely singular nature.
Common carp disrupt ecosystem structure and function through middle-out effects

Middle-out effects or a combination of top-down and bottom-up processes create many theoretical and empirical challenges in the realm of trophic ecology. We propose using specific autecology or species trait (i.e. behavioural) information to help explain and understand trophic dynamics that may involve complicated and non-unidirectional trophic interactions. The common carp (Cyprinus carpio) served as our model species for whole-lake observational and experimental studies; four trophic levels were measured to assess common carp-mediated middle-out effects across multiple lakes. We hypothesised that common carp could influence aquatic ecosystems through multiple pathways (i.e. abiotic and biotic foraging, early life feeding, nutrient). Both studies revealed most trophic levels were affected by common carp, highlighting strong middle-out effects likely caused by common carp foraging activities and abiotic influence (i.e. sediment resuspension). The loss of water transparency, submersed vegetation and a shift in zooplankton dynamics were the strongest effects. Trophic levels furthest from direct pathway effects were also affected (fish life history traits). The present study demonstrates that common carp can exert substantial effects on ecosystem structure and function. Species capable of middle-out effects can greatly modify communities through a variety of available pathways and are not confined to traditional top-down or bottom-up processes.
The Effects of Noise on Oxidative and Antioxidative Balance in Human Erythrocytes

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species have been implicated in the pathogenesis of noise-induced hearing loss. In this case-control study, we investigated the oxidative and antioxidative status of erythrocytes from workers in noisy workplace. Blood samples of 127 workers in noisy workplace (WNW) and 117 workers in non-noisy workplace (WNNW) from the same company were taken into tubes with potassium EDTA as anticoagulant in order to obtain hemolysate. Total superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities as the enzymes of antioxidative defense mechanism in the erythrocytes together with malondialdehyde (MDA) as the lipid peroxidation index and total nitric oxide (NO) as an index for nitrogen species analyses were performed by spectrophotometric methods. SOD activity was found to be 450.0±106.4 U/g Hb in WNW and 443.1±83.1 U/g Hb in WNNW. The difference between two groups were not statistically significant (p= 0.582). CAT activity was found to be 426.0±98.0 k/g Hb in WNW and 432.6±109.0 k/g Hb in WNNW showing statistically insignificant difference (p= 0.621). MDA levels in erythrocytes from WNW was significantly higher than WNNW (39.28±10.22 nmol/g Hb and 32.51±10.73 nmol/g Hb, respectively and p= 0.0001). On the other hand, NO levels were found to be significantly reduced in WNW (0.275±0.187 μmol/g Hb) compared to WNNW (0.382±0.284 μmol/g Hb) (p= 0.001). When we analyzed the hematological parameters, all the cell counts increased in WNW except monocytes and platelets compared to WNNW (p= 0.0001). Related to this changes, hemoglobin, MCHC, and hematocrit also increased in WNW (p= 0.0001). The oxidative stress, which is possibly propagated by the physical environment, seems to have an important pathophysiological role in hearing loss and lipid peroxidative cellular changes in all of the workers who work in noisy occupations.