Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PERMANENT GENETIC RESOURCES: Cross‐family amplification: microsatellites isolated from Macropodidae are polymorphic in Potoroidae

The superfamily Macropodoidea consists of two families — the Macropodidae and Potoroidae. Cross‐species amplification and polymorphism of microsatellite loci is widely recognized within the macropodid family; however, the success of macropodid loci in potoroid species has not been as widely published. In this study, we tested the amplification and polymorphism of 17 cross‐species microsatellite loci isolated from macropodids and potoroids in Bettongia lesueur (a potoroid). Success varied between loci and was not predicted by genetic distance from the species of isolation.
Codebook enhancement of vlad representation for visual recognition

Recent studies demonstrate the effectiveness of super vector representation in a number of visual recognition tasks. One popular approach along this line is the Vector of Locally Aggregated Descriptor (VLAD) where the super vector is encoded with a codebook generated by k-means. However, the effectiveness of the codebook is often limited, due to the poor clustering solution, the high dimensionality of visual descriptors and the global PCA for data preprocessing. To circumvent these problems, we propose three approaches for codebook enhancement, (i) partition of data, (ii) partition of feature, and (iii) local PCA. Moreover, all these approaches can be effectively integrated together to further boost the recognition performance. In our experiments, we evaluate our enhancement approaches on two challenging visual tasks, i.e., action recognition (HMDB51) and object recognition (PASCAL VOC2007). The results show that our approaches and the fusion versions significantly outperform the baselines.
Survivors of brain injury through the eyes of the public: A systematic review

Abstract Background: It is known that knowledge and attitudes are important in determining whether society stigmatize and discriminate against specific groups. However, there has been no systematic review of the literature measuring these factors towards acquired brain injury (ABI). Objective: This study aimed to systematically evaluate the literature measuring the public’s (1) knowledge of ABI and (2) attitudes towards survivors. Methods: Four databases were searched between December 2011 and March 2012. Studies meeting the selection criteria were included and a manual search of studies’ reference lists undertaken to identify any remaining. The quality of studies was assessed using an adapted tool. Results: Twenty studies were reviewed, with quality assessment ratings ranging from 47.83–91.3%. The public lacked awareness of some post-injury symptoms. Misconceptions concerning recovery, memory difficulties and vulnerability to second injuries were also commonly endorsed. The public demonstrated more negative attitudes towards survivors of ABI than those with other injuries, particularly if they deemed the individual responsible for their ABI. Conclusions: Survivors of ABI are vulnerable to stigma and discrimination. It is therefore essential that Government and media campaigns prioritize educating the public about ABI and promote the inclusion of survivors.
What's in a Name? Interlocutors Dynamically Update Expectations about Shared Names

In order to refer using a name, speakers must believe that their addressee knows about the link between the name and the intended referent. In cases where speakers and addressees learned a subset of names together, speakers are adept at using only the names their partner knows. But speakers do not always share such learning experience with their conversational partners. In these situations, what information guides speakers' choice of referring expression? A speaker who is uncertain about a names' common ground (CG) status often uses a name and description together. This N+D form allows speakers to demonstrate knowledge of a name, and could provide, even in the absence of miscommunication, useful evidence to the addressee regarding the speaker's knowledge. In cases where knowledge of one name is associated with knowledge of other names, this could provide indirect evidence regarding knowledge of other names that could support generalizations used to update beliefs about CG. Using Bayesian approaches to language processing as a guiding framework, we predict that interlocutors can use their partner's choice of referring expression, in particular their use of an N+D form, to generate more accurate beliefs regarding their partner's knowledge of other names. In Experiment 1, we find that domain experts are able to use their partner's referring expression choices to generate more accurate estimates of CG. In Experiment 2, we find that interlocutors are able to infer from a partner's use of an N+D form which other names that partner is likely to know or not know. Our results suggest that interlocutors can use the information conveyed in their partner's choice of referring expression to make generalizations that contribute to more accurate beliefs about what is shared with their partner, and further, that models of CG for reference need to account not just for the status of referents, but the status of means of referring to those referents.
Impact of a dermatology wiki website on dermatology education.

BACKGROUND The Dermatology Education Wiki (dermwiki) website serves as a resource platform for medical students and residents. The readily accessible interface provides dermatology articles, survival guides, didactic lectures, and links to faculty talks as well as research opportunities. OBJECTIVE To assess medical student and resident satisfaction with the dermwiki website. METHODS Fourth-year medical students taking a dermatology elective were provided with a temporary password to access relevant dermwiki information. A satisfaction survey was created to assess whether medical students found the website helpful. Second- and third-year dermatology residents were also surveyed to compare satisfaction scores prior to and after the introduction of the dermwiki website. End-of-rotation medical student exam scores were tabulated and compared to the average scores from years prior to the development of the dermwiki website. RESULTS Medical students rated the dermatology elective with the dermwiki website higher than rotations without a wiki (8.12 vs 7.31). Students planning to go into dermatology were more satisfied with the dermwiki website, reported accessing the website more frequently (11 times vs 9.5 times), and reported more time spent studying (12.2 hours vs 6.7 hours) than students not going into dermatology. End-of-rotation medical student exam scores did not differ from those prior to the development of the demwiki website. Ten second- and third-year dermatology residents unanimously stated that they were more satisfied with the program after the institution of the dermwiki website. CONCLUSIONS Overall, addition of the dermwiki website to the dermatology elective curriculum has improved medical student and resident satisfaction scores. The improvement is greater among students planning to enter the field of dermatology. This study serves as a model for the incorporation of internet-based interactive tools to transform and supplement the learning environment.
Development and Validation of Instruments to Measure Learning of Expert‐Like Thinking

This paper describes the process for creating and validating an assessment test that measures the effectiveness of instruction by probing how well that instruction causes students in a class to think like experts about specific areas of science. The design principles and process are laid out and it is shown how these align with professional standards that have been established for educational and psychological testing and the elements of assessment called for in a recent National Research Council study on assessment. The importance of student interviews for creating and validating the test is emphasized, and the appropriate interview procedures are presented. The relevance and use of standard psychometric statistical tests are discussed. Additionally, techniques for effective test administration are presented.
Serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b is a specific and sensitive marker of bone resorption.

Bone-resorbing osteoclasts and activated macrophages express high amounts of type 5 tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP; EC 3.1.3.2) (1). Osteoclasts secrete TRACP into the circulation, and serum TRACP has been considered a potentially useful marker of bone resorption. Several technical problems have prevented the use of serum TRACP as a specific marker of bone resorption. Early enzymatic assays lacked specificity because of the presence of interfering acid phosphatases derived from platelets and erythrocytes (2)(3). Serum TRACP can be determined by use of fluoride (4) or by immunoassays with antibodies specific for TRACP (5)(6)(7)(8)(9). However, there are two forms of TRACP in the serum, namely TRACP 5a and TRACP 5b. Of these, TRACP 5b is derived from osteoclasts, whereas TRACP 5a originates from other, as yet unidentified sources (10)(11)(12). Two diagnostic assays have been developed recently for serum TRACP 5b: a kinetic assay based on the use of specific inhibitors (13), and an immunoassay based on a highly characterized specific monoclonal antibody (12). The TRACP 5b-specific immunoassay has been shown to be a useful method for monitoring antiresorptive therapy (12). We have now further characterized the immunoassay by studying the clinical specificity and clinical sensitivity of serum TRACP 5b in various bone diseases and nonskeletal diseases. We obtained serum samples from 303 individuals after written informed consent. At the time of sampling, none of the subjects was receiving antiosteoporotic treatment. Healthy premenopausal women, healthy postmenopausal women, and breast cancer (BC) patients without evidence of bone metastases (BC−) were included as control populations. Patients with bone …
Point cloud completion using extrusions

In this paper, we propose modelling objects using extrusion-based representations, which can be used to complete partial point clouds. These extrusion-based representations are particularly well-suited for modelling basic household objects that robots will often need to manipulate. In order to efficiently complete a partial point cloud, we first detect planar reflection symmetries. These symmetries are then used to determine initial candidates for extruded shapes in the point clouds. These candidate solutions are then used to locally search for a suitable set of parameters to complete the point cloud. The proposed method was tested on real data of household objects and it successfully detected the extruded shapes of the objects. By using the extrusion-based representation, the system could accurately capture various details of the objects' shapes.
Analysis of transition and reproducibility of spontaneous electrical activity pattern in a living neuronal network

The representations of outer world in the brain are considered to be undertaken by spatiotemporal activity patterns of neuronal circuits. In this study, we analyzed the transition of the internal states of the circuit of rat hippocampal neurons cultured on a multi-electrodes-array-dish. We analyzed transition of center of gravity and 64-dimensional feature-vectors of electrical activity patterns. Electrical activity pattern at a certain 5-ms-width-time-window was represented as a 64 dimensional “0–1” feature vector, and analyzed the stability. We confirmed that the reproducibility of the neuronal network activity increased during culture days. In addition, we applied similarity analysis to 64-dimensional feature vectors of neuronal activity. Using X-means algorithm, feature vectors were classified into “pattern repertories” based on the spatial distribution of activity.
Glutaredoxin homolog encoded by vaccinia virus is a virion-associated enzyme with thioltransferase and dehydroascorbate reductase activities.

Glutaredoxins (GRXs), also known as thioltransferases, use glutathione as a cofactor for reduction of disulfides in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. We demonstrate that the vaccinia virus O2L open reading frame encodes a functional GRX, as predicted by Johnson et al. [Johnson, G. P., Goebel, S. J., Perkus, M. E. , Davis, S. W. , Winslow, J. P. & Paoletti, E. (1991) Virology 181, 378-381] from sequence homology. The 12-kDa protein product of the O2L open reading frame was synthesized after viral DNA replication, coincident with a major increase in cytoplasmic glutathione-dependent thioltransferase activity. The protein was associated with purified vaccinia virions and was not released by treatment with a nonionic detergent unless dithiothreitol was added. The virion-derived protein, as well as a recombinant form expressed in Escherichia coli, exhibited thioltransferase and dehydroascorbate reductase activities indicative of a functional GRX. The postreplicative synthesis of vaccinia virus GRX and its association with virions suggest that the enzyme may have novel roles in the virus growth cycle.
How and Why to Measure Personal and Historical Nostalgic Responses Through Entertainment Media

Nostalgia is increasingly and successfully used as a means to attract media recipients. But what are the effects of different types of nostalgic responses through movies, songs, and video games, and how and why should they be measured? To clarify this, the personal and historical nostalgia scales questions were validated in a media context by conducting exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and both regression and correlation analyses (studies 1 and 2). Thus, media researchers can now measure personal and historical nostalgia as a response to and across three different entertainment media: films, music, and video games. The author finds positive effects of personal nostalgia on entertainment media buying and word-of-mouth intentions, contrary to historical nostalgia.
On churn and communication delays in social overlays

Peer-to-peer systems based on an overlay network that mirrors the social relationships among the nodes' owners are increasingly attracting interest. Yet, the churn induced by the availability of users raises the question-still unanswered-of whether these social overlays represent a viable solution. Indeed, although constraining communication to take place only among “friends” brings many benefits, it also introduces significant limitations when healing the overlay in the presence of churn. This paper puts forth two contributions. First, we show through simulation on real datasets that churn induces relevant delays in information dissemination, which may ultimately hamper the practical application of social overlays. Yet, identifying opportunities for improvement and evaluating design alternatives through simulation is impractical, due to the size of the target networks, the large parameter space, and the many sources of randomness involved. Therefore, in our second contribution we combine analytical and simulation techniques to enable the estimation of dissemination delays at a practical cost.
Short-term cross-cultural study tours: impact on cultural intelligence

This paper examines whether short-term cross-cultural study tours enhance the four factors of cultural intelligence (CQ): metacognition, cognition, motivation and behavior. CQ has exhibited high correlations between higher levels of CQ and positive attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. As a capability, CQ appears malleable and, thus, open to change and improvement. Data were collected from working professionals in an MBA program both before and after participating in an experientially oriented 11- or 12-day short-term cross-cultural study tour. Results supported three of the four hypotheses, suggesting that short-term cross-cultural study tours exhibited a significant relationship with enhanced metacognitive CQ, cognitive CQ and motivational CQ. The results did not reveal a significant relationship between the study tours and behavioral CQ.
Inductive Evidence and the Hypothesis-Testing Process

There has recently been increased interest in the hypothesis-testing process provided focus by the invention of the 'Selection Task' (Wason, 1968), a technique for examining the strategies employed by subjects in hypothesis testing. Wason and Johnson-Laird (1972) in their review of this work concluded that the majority of subjects are prone to error. They found that subjects make the error of seeking simply to verify the hypothesis. These authors further concluded that this error represents a "deep seated fixation. " The question of which procedures would be appropriate in such hypothesistesting situations is the province of the philosophy of science. This has provided an analysis based mainly on either the deductive or the inductive methods. Deductive methods rely on falsification: they cannot prove the hypothesis true, but they can prove it false. Inductive methods, on the other hand, use the strategy of verification; they aim to show that the hypochesis is true. They cannot, however, prove truth, they can only show it with greater or lesser degrees of confidence. At the present time the dominant conception of the scientific process is that of deduction with falsification (see, e.g., Popper, 1959). The criteria adopted by Wason and Johnson-Laird were derived from this conception. There are, however, proposals for inductive models of the hypothesis-testing procedures (see Hempel, 1965). Thus, we must also assess subjects' reasoning according to inductive criteria and we cannot necessarily conclude that subjects' reported reasoning on the Selection Task was erroneous. Rather, it is possible to argue that the strategy of verification adopted by the subjects represents a valid inductive analysis of the situation. If this were so, then we must conclude that subjects whose methods of reasoning do not conform to the deductive model might nevertheless be reasoning correctly by other methods. Such a conclusion must be subject to empirical test, and it would seem to offer the possibility of developing a more sophisticated model of reasoning.
EXTERNAL MORPHOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT OF IMMATURE STAGES OF ELACHERTUS SCUTELLATUS (HYMENOPTERA: EULOPHIDAE) IN FLORIDA: THE FIRST NORTH AMERICAN RECORD

Abstract The first North American record for Elachertus scutellatus, a parasitoid of Calpodes ethlius Stoll, occurred August 1999, in Florida. A simple rearing protocol was established to allow the morphology and development of this wasp to be examined. The egg and larval morphology and development of E. scutellatus resemble other Elachertus species. The freshly-ecdysed pupa, on the other hand, is rare among parasitoids in that it secretes a fluid from its anus which, when dry, fastens the pupa to its substrate. The death of the colony after eight months has many possible explanations including a laboratory-induced castration, inappropriate food source(s), and pathogenic infection.
A real time portable embedded system design for particulate matter monitoring

The increasing awareness of negative health effects has raised significantly the importance of monitoring the levels of particulate matter which compose adverse respiratory problems particularly in the industrial belt. However the traditional particulate measuring instruments being bulky and expensive, prevent spatially deployed continuous air quality monitoring. This paper focuses on continuous monitoring of noxious suspended particulate matter for indoor as well as outdoor supervision, assisting individuals to have control over the immediate breathing environment. In this paper, a system has been presented which uses electronic sensors small enough to be incorporated into portable devices and therefore provide distributed measurement of parameters such as PM 2.5 and PM 10, and additionally ambient air temperature, atmospheric pressure and humidity measurements with appropriate levels of accuracy. The system is designed with an on-board graphical display and a buzzer alarm for hazardous situation intimation.
Shadow Removal from Single RGB-D Images

We present the first automatic method to remove shadows from single RGB-D images. Using normal cues directly derived from depth, we can remove hard and soft shadows while preserving surface texture and shading. Our key assumption is: pixels with similar normals, spatial locations and chromaticity should have similar colors. A modified nonlocal matching is used to compute a shadow confidence map that localizes well hard shadow boundary, thus handling hard and soft shadows within the same framework. We compare our results produced using state-of-the-art shadow removal on single RGB images, and intrinsic image decomposition on standard RGB-D datasets.
‘All a matter of timing’: Managerial innovation and workplace culture in the New South Wales railways and tramways prior to 1921∗

‘All a Matter of Timing’ examines how the implementation of scientific management altered spatial arrangements and social interaction in the New South Wales Railways and Tramways Department's workshops during the early decades of the twentieth century. The article argues that the ideology and techniques associated with this managerial innovation were adopted to challenge the collectivist practices and beliefs that characterised the workshops’ industrial culture before World War I. From this perspective, the department's welfarist measures are shown to have been critical to the diffusion of scientific management.
Efficient recursive subtyping

Subtyping in the presence of recursive types for the λ-calculus was studied by Amadio and Cardelli in 1991 [1]. In that paper they showed that the problem of deciding whether one recursive type is a sub-type of another is decidable in exponential time. In this paper we give an O(n2) algorithm. Our algorithm is based on a simplification of the definition of the subtype relation, which allows us to reduce the problem to the emptiness problem for a certain finite automaton with quadratically many states. It is known that equality of recursive types and the covariant Bo¨hm order can be decided efficiently by means of finite automata. Our results extend the automata-theoretic approach to handle orderings based on contravariance.
Rapid single-colony whole-genome sequencing of bacterial pathogens

Objectives As a result of the introduction of rapid benchtop sequencers, the time required to subculture a bacterial pathogen to extract sufficient DNA for library preparation can now exceed the time to sequence said DNA. We have eliminated this rate-limiting step by developing a protocol to generate DNA libraries for whole-genome sequencing directly from single bacterial colonies grown on primary culture plates. Methods We developed our protocol using single colonies of 17 bacterial pathogens responsible for severe human infection that were grown using standard diagnostic media and incubation conditions. We then applied this method to four clinical scenarios that currently require time-consuming reference laboratory tests: full identification and genotyping of salmonellae; identification of blaNDM-1, a highly transmissible carbapenemase resistance gene, in Klebsiella pneumoniae; detection of genes encoding staphylococcal toxins associated with specific disease syndromes; and monitoring of vaccine targets to detect vaccine escape in Neisseria meningitidis. Results We validated our single-colony whole-genome sequencing protocol for all 40 combinations of pathogen and selective, non-selective or indicator media tested in this study. Moreover, we demonstrated the clinical value of this method compared with current reference laboratory tests. Conclusions This advance will facilitate the implementation of whole-genome sequencing into diagnostic and public health microbiology.