Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An experimental investigation of the relation between learning and separability in spatial representations

One way of modeling human knowledge is by using multidimensional spaces, in which an object is represented as a point in the space, and the distances among the points reflect the similarities among the represented objects. The distances are measured with some metric, commonly some instance of the Minkowski metric. The instances differ with the magnitude of the so-called r-parameter. The instances most commonly mentioned in the literature are the ones where r equals 1, 2 and infinity. Cognitive scientists have found out that different metrics are suited to describe different dimensional combinations. From these findings an important distinction between integral and separable dimensions has been stated (Garner, 1974). Separable dimensions, e.g. size and form, are best described by the city-block metric, where r equals 1, and integral dimensions, such as the color dimensions, are best described by the Euclidean metric, where r equals 2. Developmental psychologists have formulated a hypothesis saying that small children perceive many dimensional combinations as integral whereas adults perceive the same combinations as separable. Thus, there seems to be a shift towards increasing separability with age or maturity. Earlier experiments show the same phenomenon in adult short-term learning with novel stimuli. In these experiments, the stimuli were first perceived as rather integral and were then turning more separable, indicated by the Minkowski-r. This indicates a shift towards increasing separability with familiarity or skill. This dissertation aims at investigating the generality of this phenomenon. Five similarity-rating experiments are conducted, for which the best fitting metric for the first half of the session is compared to the last half of the session. If the Minkowski-r is lower for the last half compared to the first half, it is considered to indicate increasing separability. The conclusion is that the phenomenon of increasing separability during short-term learning cannot be found in these experiments, at least not given the operational definition of increasing separability as a function of a decreasing Minkowski-r. An alternative definition of increasing separability is suggested, where an r-value ‘retreating’ 2.0 indicates increasing separability, i.e. when the r-value of the best fitting metric for the last half of a similarity-rating session is further away from 2.0 compared to the first half of the session.
Fuzzy Mathematical Techniques With Applications

FUZZY MATHEMATICAL TECHNIQUES WITH APPLICATIONS by Abraham Kandel Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, USA 1986 (£37.95). This very complete 274 page treatise on fuzzy mathematics is aimed at readers at a graduate level with a strong (repeat strong) mathematical background. The seven chapters are entitled "Fuzzy Sets". "Possibility Theory and Fuzzy Quantification", "Fuzzy Functions", "Fuzzy Events and Fuzzy Statistics", "Fuzzy Relations", "Fuzzy Logics" and "Some Applications". The book is concluded with a 41 page bibliography containing about 1,000 references to fuzzy set theory and its applications. As an exhaustive research monograph this book meets the needs of all students, teachers and researchers interested in the subject of fuzzy mathematics. However, it should not be thought of, nor recommended as, a easy introduction or relaxing guide to the subject of fuzzy mathematics.
Fluctuations in wall-shear stress and pressure at low streamwise wavenumbers in turbulent boundary-layer flow

Turbulent boundary-layer fluctuations in the incompressive domain are expressed in terms of fluctuating velocity-product 'sources’ in order to elucidate relative characteristics of fluctuating wall-shear stress and pressure in the subconvective range of streamwise wavenumbers. Appropriate viscous wall conditions are applied, and results are obtained to lowest order in this Strouhal-scaled wavenumber which serves as the expansion parameter. The spectral amplitudes of pressure and of the shear stress component directed along the wavevector both contain additive terms proportional to source integrals with exponential wall-distance weighting characteristic respectively of the irrotational and the rotational fields. At low wavenumbers, barring unexpected relative smallness of the pertinent boundary-layer source term, the rotational terms become dominant. There the wall pressure and shear-stress component have spectra that approach the same non-vanishing, wavevector-white but generally viscous-scale-dependent level and are totally coherent with phase difference ½π. The other, irrotational contributions to the shear-stress and pressure amplitudes likewise bear a simple and previously known, generally wavevector– and frequency-dependent, ratio to one another. In an inviscid limit this contribution to the pressure amplitude reduces to the one obtained previously from inviscid treatments. A representative class of models is introduced for the source spectrum, and the resulting rotational contribution to the spectral density of wall pressure and K-aligned shear stress at low (but incompressive) wavenumbers is estimated. It is suggested that this contribution may predominate and account for measured low-wavenumber levels of wall pressure.
Numerical Study of Impinging Cooling of a Porous Block Under a Straightening or Non-Straightening Jet Flow

This work numerically investigated the thermal characteristics of the aluminum-foam block under the confined impinging air jet flow with straightening (model A) or non-straightening (model B) jet flow models. The dimensions of the aluminum-foam block were 60 mm in length (L) and 60 mm in width (W). Two kinds of aluminum foams with different porosities (ϵ)/pore densities (PPI) were applied: ϵ = 0.93/20 PPI and ϵ = 0.97/5 PPI. Two computational domains were employed to build the jet flow models: (1) model A (excluding the jet-nozzle region) whose jet velocity profile was uniform; and (2) mode B (including a sufficiently long jet-nozzle region) whose velocity profile was uniform at the inlet of the jet nozzle and changed at the exit of the jet nozzle via numerical results. For model B jet flow, a quasi-parabolic velocity profile would be formed at the nozzle exit when the w j /L was small enough; however, a saddle-shape velocity profile gradually appeared when the w j /L increased. Relevant parameters were the jet Reynolds number (Re = 250 ∼ 1000), the relative jet nozzle width (w j /L = 0.125 ∼ 1), the relative impinging distances (C/L = 0 ∼ 0.5), and the relative porous block heights (H/L = 0.125 ∼ 1). Generally, a quasi-parabolic velocity profile will have a bigger momentum to make more fluid to penetrate the porous block and reach near the heated wall, promoting the total heat transfer. On the contrary, the saddle-shape velocity profile leads much more fluid to bypass the porous block, reducing the total heat transfer. The results indicate that the present results agreed with those of others studies reasonably. At C/L = 0, the 0.93-porosity Al-foam block generally had a bigger than the 0.97-porosity one; but the contrary result was found at C/L = 0.5. Besides, increasing C/L and w j /L would decrease the . The sharply fell first and then changed smoothly as increasing w j /L. Moreover, model A was generally better than model B in heat transfer, particularly for those cases with bigger w j /L. However, at C/L = 0.5 and small-w j /L condition, the of model B was higher than that of model A. Furthermore, the generally declined with increasing the H/L, but might first raise and then drop when increasing the H/L when the C/L or w j /L is bigger. Finally, the correlations of (H/L) OPT having the maximum and the corresponding parametric ranges were provided.
Characteristics and Seasonal Variations of Carbonaceous Species in PM2.5 in Taiyuan, China

Seasonal characteristics of PM2.5, organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) were studied in Taiyuan from 2009 to 2010. PM2.5 samples were collected by pre-baked quartz filters with high-volume air sampler, and then OC and EC were analyzed by thermal/optical reflectance method. The annual average concentrations of PM2.5, OC and EC were 220.2, 37.4 and 19.6 µg/m3 respectively, which were higher than those in most regions in China. Total carbonaceous aerosol (TCA) accounted for more than one third of the total PM2.5 mass. The levels of PM2.5, OC and EC were the highest in winter, followed by spring, fall and summer. OC and EC were well correlated in summer compared with other seasons, indicating the presence of other additional sources such as biomass burning in fall, coal combustion for heating in winter and dust in spring. Higher OC/EC ratios in winter might be primarily attributed to the significant increase of direct emission of OC as a result of coal and biomass combustion, and also cooling effect of carbonaceous aerosols due to low temperature and stagnated atmospheric condition. These results showed that the pollution of carbonaceous particles in Taiyuan was serious, and might be an inducing factor of dust haze, especially in winter.
Total polyphenolics, antioxidants, and cytotoxic activity of infusions from soursop ( Annona muricata ) leaves from two Mexican regions

RESUMEN Infusions of soursop or graviola ( Annona muricata L.) leaves have been used as alternative medicine for their phytochemical composition, pharmacological and cytotoxic activity that are related with antibacterial, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. Infusions of soursop leaves were obtained at 5, 10, and 15 min in samples collected from the Chiapas and Nayarit regions of Mexico. Total soluble phenols (TSP), flavonoids (FC), condensed tannins (CT), total anthocyanins (AC), antioxidant activity, attenuated total reflectance – Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis (FTIR-TRA), cytotoxic activity in MCF7 and HT-29 cell lines were evaluated. The average contents of TSP, FC, CT and AC were as follows: 0.229±0.006 mg gallic acid equivalents ml -1 , 0.177±0.003 mg catechin equivalents ml -1 , 0.298±0.012 mg cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalents ml -1 , and 0.189±0.003 mg catechin equivalents
Inhibition of tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 and the risk of periodontitis

Aim To investigate the effect of genetically proxied inhibition of tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1) on the risk of periodontitis. Materials and methods Genetic instruments were selected from the vicinity of TNFR superfamily member 1A (TNFRSF1A) gene (chromosome 12; base pairs 6,437,923–6,451,280 as per GRCh37 assembly) based on their association with C-reactive protein (N= 575,531). Summary statistics of these variants were obtained from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 17,353 periodontitis cases and 28,210 controls to estimate the effect of TNFR1 inhibition on periodontitis using a fixed-effects inverse method. Results Considering rs1800693 as an instrument, we found no effect of TNFR1 inhibition on periodontitis risk (Odds ratio (OR) scaled per standard deviation increment in CRP: 1.57, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.38;6.46). Similar results were derived from a secondary analysis that used three variants (rs767455, rs4149570, and rs4149577) to index TNFR1 inhibition. Conclusions We found no evidence of a potential efficacy of TNFR1 inhibition on periodontitis risk.
Urinary exosome tsRNAs as novel markers for diagnosis and prediction of lupus nephritis

Objective Lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the most severe organ manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Early identification of renal disease in SLE is important. Renal biopsy is currently recognized as the gold standard for diagnosing LN, however, it is invasive and inconvenient for dynamic monitoring. Urine has been considered more promising and valuable than blood in identifying inflamed kidney tissue. Here, we determine whether the signatures of tRNA-derived small noncoding RNA (tsRNA) in urinary exosomes can serve as novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of LN. Methods tsRNA sequencing was performed in exosome extracted from pooled urine of 20 LN patients and 20 SLE without LN, and the top 10 upregulated tsRNAs were screened as candidate markers of LN. The candidate urinary exosomal tsRNAs were primarily elected by TaqMan probe-based quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) in 40 samples (20 LN and 20 SLE without LN) in the training phase. In the validation phase, selected tsRNAs from the training phase were further confirmed in a larger cohort (54 LN patients and 39 SLE without LN). Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy. Results Upregulated levels of tRF3-Ile-AAT-1 and tiRNA5-Lys-CTT-1 in the urinary exosomes were observed in LN compared with SLE without LN (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.001) and healthy controls (P < 0.01 and P < 0.01), with the area under the curve (AUC) of 0.777 (95% CI: 0.681-0.874, sensitivity 79.63%, specificity 66.69%) and 0.715 (95% CI: 0.610-0.820, sensitivity 66.96%, specificity 76.92%) for discriminating LN from SLE without LN patients. SLE patients with mild activity and moderate to severe activity had higher levels of urinary exosome derived tRF3-Ile AAT-1 (P = 0.035 and P < 0.001) and tiRNA5-Lys-CTT-1 (P = 0.021 and P < 0.001) compared with patients with no activity. Moreover, bioinformatics analysis revealed that both of the tsRNAs regulate the immune process by modulating metabolism and signal pathway. Conclusion In this study, we demonstrated that urinary exosome tsRNAs can be served as noninvasive biomarkers for the efficient diagnosis and prediction of nephritis in SLE.
Mechanisms of action and processes of yoga-based group intervention for inpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders–A longitudinal qualitative study

Background Research exploring the effects of yoga therapy (YT) on individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) is scarce. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore possible mechanisms of actions and processes, as well as adverse effects of a novel yoga-based group intervention (YoGI) for in-patients with SSD in a German university hospital setting. Material and methods A longitudinal qualitative study was integrated into a rater-blinded randomized controlled trial, exploring the impact of a 4-week YoGI as add-on treatment. In-depth interviews were conducted with participants receiving YoGI (n = 19) in addition to treatment as usual (TAU) and a control group (n = 14) which only received TAU. Interviews were conducted at baseline (n = 33) and 4 weeks post-intervention (N = 28) to assess the participant’s experiences and how they changed over time. The interviews (N = 61) were audio-taped, translated, coded, and analyzed by means of inductive thematic analysis. Separate case summaries were prepared for each participant to analyze longitudinal changes within subjects. The research team members collaboratively discussed the final list of themes and subcodes. Rater-based questionnaires, such as the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), and Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP) were administered at baseline to assess clinical outcomes. Results At baseline, participants reported a desire to improve their stress- and symptom management. A minority of participants expressed reservations toward yoga, and several psychosocial barriers were named, including worries about symptom exacerbation. At post-intervention, four mechanisms of change became evident from the interviews: (1) acquiring competence in relaxation, (2) increased interoceptive awareness, (3) feeling connected, and (4) a sense of spiritual wellbeing. A small number of participants reported difficulties with YoGI. Conclusion Generally, YoGI positively influenced participants’ experiences of their inpatient stay, regarding distress, self- and body awareness, social connectedness, and spiritual wellbeing. However, participants also illuminated necessary adjustments to improve the intervention. YoGI will therefore be adapted and further developed in an iterative process based on a participant involvement approach. The efficacy regarding outcomes and processes needs to be investigated in a future larger-scaled randomized controlled trial.
An updated classification of meditation methods using principles of taxonomy and systematics

This paper revisits the proposal for the classification of meditation methods which we introduced in our initial 2013 publication, “Toward a Universal Taxonomy and Definition of Meditation”. At that time, we advanced the thesis that meditation methods could be effectively segregated into three orthogonal categories by integrating the taxonomic principle of functional essentialism and the paradigm of Affect and Cognition; and we presented relevant research findings which supported that assertion. This iteration expands upon those theoretical and methodological elements by articulating a more comprehensive Three Tier Classification System which accounts for the full range of meditation methods; and demonstrates how recent neuroscience research continues to validate and support our thesis. This paper also introduces a novel criterion-based protocol for formulating classification systems of meditation methods, and demonstrates how this model can be used to compare and evaluate various other taxonomy proposals that have been published over the past 15 years.
DKK3’s protective role in prostate cancer is partly due to the modulation of immune-related pathways

While it is considered one of the most common cancers and the leading cause of death in men worldwide, prognostic stratification and treatment modalities are still limited for patients with prostate cancer (PCa). Recently, the introduction of genomic profiling and the use of new techniques like next-generation sequencing (NGS) in many cancers provide novel tools for the discovery of new molecular targets that might improve our understanding of the genomic aberrations in PCa and the discovery of novel prognostic and therapeutic targets. In this study, we investigated the possible mechanisms through which Dickkopf-3 (DKK3) produces its possible protective role in PCa using NGS in both the DKK3 overexpression PCa cell line (PC3) model and our patient cohort consisting of nine PCa and five benign prostatic hyperplasia. Interestingly, our results have shown that DKK3 transfection-modulated genes are involved in the regulation of cell motility, senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), and cytokine signaling in the immune system, as well as in the regulation of adaptive immune response. Further analysis of our NGS using our in vitro model revealed the presence of 36 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between DKK3 transfected cells and PC3 empty vector. In addition, both CP and ACE2 genes were differentially expressed not only between the transfected and empty groups but also between the transfected and Mock cells. The top common DEGs between the DKK3 overexpression cell line and our patient cohort are the following: IL32, IRAK1, RIOK1, HIST1H2BB, SNORA31, AKR1B1, ACE2, and CP. The upregulated genes including IL32, HIST1H2BB, and SNORA31 showed tumor suppressor functions in various cancers including PCa. On the other hand, both IRAK1 and RIOK1 were downregulated and involved in tumor initiation, tumor progression, poor outcome, and radiotherapy resistance. Together, our results highlighted the possible role of the DKK3-related genes in protecting against PCa initiation and progression.
Does congruence between a descendant entrepreneur’s personality traits and family business values matter for succession?

Purpose In this paper, we investigate two research queries pertaining to the success of small family business succession. First, we examine how the Big-5 personality traits of descendant entrepreneurs influence the success of their family business succession. Second, we investigate whether descendant entrepreneurs whose personality traits are congruent with the values of their family business, would lead to the success of their family business succession, through the mediating role of descendant entrepreneur-family business value congruence (DE-FBVC). Methodology We rely on the person-organization fit theory for our conceptual framework and we collected primary data from 124 respondents designated as chairman and managing directors in small family businesses. Results Our results show that a descendant entrepreneur’s openness, extroversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness traits are likely to lead to successful family business succession, but a descendant entrepreneur with neuroticism trait is unlikely to do so. In addition, our results reveal that the DE-FBVC mediates the relationship between openness and extroversion traits with succession success positively, but between neuroticism trait and succession success negatively. By contrast, we find that DE-FBVC does not mediate the relationship between conscientiousness and agreeableness traits with succession success. Originality The findings of our study suggest that while four of the Big-5 personality traits matter for the success of small family business succession, specific personality traits of descendant entrepreneurs which are found to be congruent with the values of their family business, will also lead to succession success.
Impact of swiping direction on the interaction performance of elderly-oriented smart home interface: EEG and eye-tracking evidence

Introduction Smart home technology is increasingly popular, yet not all seniors are receptive and comfortable with it. This situation recognizes that the usability of smart home interfaces is particularly important. Most studies on interface swiping direction demonstrate the advantages of horizontal over vertical swiping, but the findings lack age-based as well as gender-specific judgments. Methods In this paper, we use cognitive neural techniques of EEG and eye-tracking, combined with a subjective preference questionnaire, to analyze the preference of older persons for the swiping direction of smart home interfaces in a multimodal manner. Results The EEG data showed that swiping direction had a significant effect on potential values (p = 0.001). Also, the mean power in the δ and the θ band was enhanced during vertical swiping. Gender had no significant effect on potential values (p = 0.085), but the cognitive task was more EEG stimulating for females. The eye-tracking metrics data showed a significant effect of swiping direction on fixation duration (p = 0.047) and a non-significant effect on pupil diameter (p = 0.576). These results were consistent with the results of the subjective preference questionnaire, both demonstrating a preference for vertical swiping among participants. Discussion This paper uses three research tools simultaneously, combining objective perceptions as well as subjective preferences, to make the findings more comprehensive and reliable. Gender differences were also taken into account and differentiated in the data processing. The findings of this paper are different from most previous studies and better reflect the preference of elderly people for swiping directions, which can provide a reference for the future elderly-friendly smart home interface design.