Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conducting Robust Intervention Trials to Address the Sensory Needs of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Design Challenges in an Australian Context

Many occupational therapists administer sensory interventions to address the needs of children with autism spectrum disorder. However, the current evidence regarding the effectiveness of sensory interventions is inconclusive, resulting in calls for more robust testing through randomized controlled trials. Our initial research plan was to conduct a randomized controlled trial that had real-world applications for occupational therapists and children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. However, as we conceptualized this study, we identified many uncertainties regarding the criteria required for a robust trial. In this opinion piece we describe and discuss the challenges we encountered when designing a community-clinic-based effectiveness study in an Australian context.
Antioxidant Dps protein from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus

DNA‐binding proteins from starved cells (Dps proteins) protect bacteria primarily from oxidative damage. They are composed of 12 identical subunits assembled with 23‐symmetry to form a compact cage‐like structure known to be stable at temperatures > 70 °C and over a wide pH range. Thermosynechococcus elongatus Dps thermostability is increased dramatically relative to mesophilic Dps proteins. Hydrophobic interactions at the dimeric and trimeric interfaces called Dps‐like are replaced by salt bridges and hydrogen bonds, a common strategy in thermophiles. Moreover, the buried surface area at the least‐extended Dps‐like interface is significantly increased. A peculiarity of T. elongatus Dps is the presence of a chloride ion coordinated with threefold symmetry‐related arginine residues lining the opening of the Dps‐like pore toward the internal cavity. T. elongatus Dps conserves the unusual intersubunit ferroxidase centre that allows the Dps protein family to oxidize Fe(II) with hydrogen peroxide, thereby inhibiting free radical production via Fenton chemistry. This catalytic property is of special importance in T. elongatus (which lacks the catalase gene) in the protection of DNA and photosystems I and II from hydrogen peroxide‐mediated oxidative damage.
Analysis of change in coordinate system on clustering

Clustering is one of the data mining techniques used in a knowledge discovery process. It is assumed that a good representation of data points may yield good clustering results [6]. This paper discusses the effect of the coordinate system on the clustering. In this paper, we propose a density based clustering approach to group objects represented using Polar coordinate system. The experiment is carried out on different datasets. To evaluate the goodness of cluster result we have used internal and external validity measures. In most of the cases, data points representation using conventional Cartesian coordinate system results in better clustering performance as compared to clustering obtained from same data represented using Polar coordinate system. However, it is observed that for certain Data Sets our proposed density based approach on Polar coordinates clustering results outperform conventional approach. Hence, we can conclude that an appropriate representation of data points may yield more appropriate clustering results.
Unit responses evoked in the amygdala and striatum by electrical stimulation of the medial geniculate body

Unit activity was recorded from cells and cell clusters in the amygdala and striatum in response to electrical stimulation of the medial geniculate body (MGB) in rats anesthetized with chloral hydrate. Responses were mostly excitatory and were evoked against a relatively silent background (i.e., the units seldom fired between stimuli). The shortest latency responses were recorded in the caudate putamen (CPU), lateral amygdaloid nucleus (AL), and amygdalostriatal transition area (AST). Longer latency responses were obtained from neurons in the basolateral (ABL), basomedial (ABM), and central (ACE) nuclei of the amygdala. Moreover, while responses were evoked in AL, AST, and CPU with 300–500 microA stimuli delivered once every 10 sec, more intense and higher-frequency stimuli were required to obtain responses in ABL, ABM, and ACE. These findings are consistent with anatomical tracing studies showing that AL, AST, and CPU receive direct projections from the MGB and related acoustic processing areas of the thalamus but that ACE, ABL, and ABM do not.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Neuropsychology: An Introduction and Historical Perspective

Complaints of cognitive problems are a very significant aspect of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), with such complaints occurring in up to 85% to 95% of CFS patients (Grafman, 1994; Komaroff & Buchwald, 1991). As such, the clinical neuropsychologist plays a key role in the assessment and treatment of persons with CFS. The purpose of this special issue on CFS is to present new research on CFS across a broad spectrum of scientific and clinical inquiry, including psychopathology, cognitive and cerebral functioning, genetic and immunological contributions, and disability and outcome. Despite the recent interest in the study of CFS, some have argued that CFS was first recognized in the midto late 19th century as neurasthenia (for a detailed history of fatigue, see Wesseley, Hotopf, & Sharpe, 1998). Neurasthenia was first recognized as a neurological illness resulting in extreme fatigability due to nervous exhaustion. However, this view changed by the turn of the century, perhaps partly due to the rise of the psychoanalytic school, and neurasthenia became known as a psychiatric condition. Fatigue was then viewed as a symptom of anxiety, depression, and somatoform disorders. In the years to follow, the term neurasthenia was used less and less, and treatment for patients shifted from the neurologist to the psychiatrist. By the 1950s and 1960s, there was little interest in neurasthenia. In fact, the term was dropped from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1980), although it is still maintained in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD–9 and ICD–10). With the decreased use of the term neurasthenia, physicians often avoided nosological entities in patients whose complaint was primarily fatigue, referring more to descriptive labels such as “tired, weak” or “fatigue and nervousness. ” Chronic fatigue became invisible, with no name, no known etiology, and no research (Ware, 1992). However, there were outbreaks of epidemics throughout the world, which, in hindsight, often closely resembled CFS and neurasthenia. Two early influential epidemics took place in Los Angeles County in 1934 and in the Royal Free Hospital located in London in 1955. Contemporaneous concerns were often associated with possible links to polio. Sporadic cases of such outbreaks continued, as did the various terms used to describe these incidences, such as myalgic encephalomyelitis, Iceland disease, postviral fatigue syndrome, chronic Epstein–Barr virus, and so on. The publication of three influential articles (Jones et al., 1985; Straus et al., 1985; Tobi et al., 1982), as well as an increase in sporadic and epidemic cases throughout the United States, led to increased public and media attention, including testimony before a U.S. Senate subcommittee. Physicians and clinics across the country were inundated with requests to evaluate chronic fatigue. This activity culminated in an article published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in 1988 defin-
Route driven gossip: probabilistic reliable multicast in ad hoc networks

Traditionally, reliable multicast protocols are deterministic in nature. It is precisely this determinism that tends to become their limiting factor when aiming at reliability and scalability, particularly in highly dynamic networks, e.g., ad hoc networks. As probabilistic protocols, gossip-based multicast protocols, recently (re-)discovered in wired networks, appear to be a viable means to "fight fire with fire" by exploiting the nondeterministic nature of ad hoc networks. We present a protocol that is designed to meet a more practical specification of probabilistic reliability; this gossip-based multicast protocol, called route driven gossip (RDG), can be deployed on any basic on-demand routing protocol. RDG is custom-tailored to ad hoc networks, achieving a high level of reliability without relying on any inherent multicast primitive. We illustrate our RDG protocol by layering it on top of the "bare" DSR protocol. We prove the reliability and scalability of RDG through both analysis and simulation.
CONSTRAINING THE Lyα ESCAPE FRACTION WITH FAR-INFRARED OBSERVATIONS OF Lyα EMITTERS

We study the far-infrared properties of 498 Lyα emitters (LAEs) at z = 2.8, 3.1, and 4.5 in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South, using 250, 350, and 500 μm data from the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey and 870 μm data from the LABOCA ECDFS Submillimeter Survey. None of the 126, 280, or 92 LAEs at z = 2.8, 3.1, and 4.5, respectively, are individually detected in the far-infrared data. We use stacking to probe the average emission to deeper flux limits, reaching 1σ depths of ∼0.1 to 0.4 mJy. The LAEs are also undetected at ⩾3σ in the stacks, although a 2. 5σ signal is observed at 870 μm for the z = 2.8 sources. We consider a wide range of far-infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs), including an M82 and an Sd galaxy template, to determine upper limits on the far-infrared luminosities and far-infrared-derived star formation rates of the LAEs. These star formation rates are then combined with those inferred from the Lyα and UV emission to determine lower limits on the LAEs' Lyα escape fraction (fesc(Lyα)). For the Sd SED template, the inferred LAEs fesc(Lyα) are ≳ 30% (1σ) at z = 2.8, 3.1, and 4.5, which are all significantly higher than the global fesc(Lyα) at these redshifts. Thus, if the LAEs fesc(Lyα) follows the global evolution, then they have warmer far-infrared SEDs than the Sd galaxy template. The average and M82 SEDs produce lower limits on the LAE fesc(Lyα) of ∼10%–20% (1σ), all of which are slightly higher than the global evolution of fesc(Lyα), but consistent with it at the 2σ–3σ level.
Automated control for elastic storage

Elasticity - where systems acquire and release resources in response to dynamic workloads, while paying only for what they need - is a driving property of cloud computing. At the core of any elastic system is an automated controller. This paper addresses elastic control for multi-tier application services that allocate and release resources in discrete units, such as virtual server instances of predetermined sizes. It focuses on elastic control of the storage tier, in which adding or removing a storage node or "brick" requires rebalancing stored data across the nodes. The storage tier presents new challenges for elastic control: actuator delays (lag) due to rebalancing, interference with applications and sensor measurements, and the need to synchronize the multiple control elements, including rebalancing. We have designed and implemented a new controller for elastic storage systems to address these challenges. Using a popular distributed storage system - the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) - under dynamic Web 2.0 workloads, we show how the controller adapts to workload changes to maintain performance objectives efficiently in a pay-as-you-go cloud computing environment.
Rabphilin Knock-Out Mice Reveal That Rabphilin Is Not Required for Rab3 Function in Regulating Neurotransmitter Release

Rab3A and rab3C are GTP-binding proteins of synaptic vesicles that regulate vesicle exocytosis. Rabphilin is a candidate rab3 effector at the synapse because it binds to rab3s in a GTP-dependent manner, it is co-localized with rab3s on synaptic vesicles, and it dissociates with rab3s from the vesicles during exocytosis. Rabphilin contains two C2 domains, which could function as Ca2+sensors in exocytosis and is phosphorylated as a function of stimulation. However, it is unknown what essential function, if any, rabphilin performs. One controversial question regards the respective roles of rab3s and rabphilin in localizing each other to synaptic vesicles: although rabphilin is mislocalized in rab3A knock-out mice, purified synaptic vesicles were shown to require rabphilin for binding of rab3A but not rab3A for binding of rabphilin. To test whether rabphilin is involved in localizing rab3s to synaptic vesicles and to explore the functions of rabphilin in regulating exocytosis, we have now analyzed knock-out mice for rabphilin. Mice that lack rabphilin are viable and fertile without obvious physiological impairments. In rabphilin-deficient mice, rab3A is targeted to synaptic vesicles normally, whereas in rab3A-deficient mice, rabphilin transport to synapses is impaired. These results show that rabphilin binds to vesicles via rab3s, consistent with an effector function of rabphilin for a synaptic rab3-signal. Surprisingly, however, no abnormalities in synaptic transmission or plasticity were observed in rabphilin-deficient mice; synaptic properties that are impaired in rab3A knock-out mice were unchanged in rabphilin knock-out mice. Our data thus demonstrate that rabphilin is endowed with the properties of a rab3 effector but is not essential for the regulatory functions of rab3 in synaptic transmission.
Using Program Slicing in Software Maintenance

Program slicing is applied to the software maintenance problem by extending the notion of a program slice (that originally required both a variable and line number) to a decomposition slice, one that captures all computation on a given variable, i.e., is independent of line numbers. Using the lattice of single variable decomposition slices ordered by set inclusion, it is shown how a slice-based decomposition for programs can be formed. One can then delineate the effects of a proposed change by isolating those effects in a single component of the decomposition. This gives maintainers a straightforward technique for determining those statements and variables which may be modified in a component and those which may not. Using the decomposition, a set of principles to prohibit changes which will interfere with unmodified components is provided. These semantically consistent changes can then be merged back into the original program in linear time. >
Writing speed and legibility of 7–14-year-old school students using modern cursive script

Modern cursive script, along with its precursor the beginner's alphabet, is now well established in the curricula of most Australian schools. However, debate continues regarding the advantages of this script over the previous print and cursive style. Beyond this debate, occupational therapists continue to assess and treat children with handwriting difficulties. Therefore, how children are writing using modern cursive now warrants attention, as this is the mode of choice in most Australian schools. Three hundred and seventy-two children aged between 7 and 14 years who attended Queensland government primary schools were asked to complete the speed subtest of the Handwriting Performance Test. The same writing sample was used to rate legibility on a scale from 1 (poor legibility) to 7 (good legibility). Handwriting speed (in letters per minute) did not differ significantly between boys and girls (mean (±SD) = 69.9±33.8 and 68.9±25.9 letters/min, respectively). In contrast, legibility was significantly better (t(370) = 3.79, P 0.05). The results are discussed in light of the shift to this new writing style and current occupational therapy practice.
Age Bias in Selection Decisions: The Role of Facial Appearance and Fitness Impressions

This research examined the impact of facial age appearance on hiring, and impressions of fitness as the underlying mechanism. In two experimental hiring simulations, one with lay persons and one with Human Resource professionals, participants evaluated a chronologically older or younger candidate (as indicated by date of birth and age label) with either younger or older facial age appearance (as indicated by a photograph). In both studies, older-looking candidates received lower hireability ratings, due to less favorable fitness impressions. In addition, Study 1 showed that this age bias was reduced when the candidates provided counter-stereotypic information about their fitness. Study 2 showed that facial age-based discrimination is less prevalent in jobs with less costumer contact (e.g., back office).
Development of skills in children with ASD using a robotic platform

The interaction and communication skills are essential to live in society. However, individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a gap in these abilities which affects their daily life. Previous studies suggest that children with ASD demonstrate some positive behaviors in presence of a robotic platform. This study intends to evaluate the effect of a robotic platform on children with ASD, checking if the platform can be a stimulating agent for children's interaction, as well as a skill learning promoter. So, it is used the robot Lego Mindstorms NXT as a mediator/reward to encourage children with ASD to interact with others and also to learn some cognitive skills.
senti.ue-en: an approach for informally written short texts in SemEval-2013 Sentiment Analysis task

This article describes a Sentiment Analysis (SA) system named senti.ue-en, built for participation in SemEval-2013 Task 2, a Twitter SA challenge. In both challenge subtasks we used the same supervised machine learning approach, including two classifiers in pipeline, with 22 semantic oriented features, such as polarized term presence and index, and negation presence. Our system achieved a better score on Task A (0.7413) than in the Task B (0.4785). In the first subtask, there is a better result for SMS than the obtained for the more trained type of data, the tweets.
The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance.

: The psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance is reviewed and elaborated. It is argued that various modes of psychotherapy can be mean-ingfully differentiated in terms of the kinds of working alliances embedded in them. Moreover, the strength, rather than the kind of working alliance, will prove to be the major factor in change achieved through psychotherapy. Strength of alliance will be a function of the goodness of fit of the respective personalities of patient and therapist to the demands of the working alliance. Past research bearing on these propositions and indicated future research are discussed. Extensions to changes sought in teaching and other group processes are briefly touched.
Proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis in villous trophoblast at 13-41 weeks of gestation (including observations on annulate lamellae and nuclear pore complexes).

Ultrastructural, immunochemical, fluorescence and stereological studies were undertaken on human villous trophoblast from 13 weeks of gestation to term. The aim was to describe and quantify morphological changes during proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis in cytotrophoblast and syncytial regions of non-aggregated and aggregated nuclei. Numbers of trophoblast nuclei increased continuously from 13 weeks. In term placentae, intrasyncytial differentiation was characterized ultrastructurally by gradual decreases in nuclear size and packing density accompanied by nucleolar regression, and increasing heterochromatinization, envelope convolution and packing density of nuclear pore complexes. In densely packed areas, nuclear profiles resembled interlocking jigsaw pieces. Occasionally, these 'pre-apoptotic' nuclei were associated with annulate lamellae. Rarely, nuclear changes terminated in apoptosis with a characteristic pattern of condensed peripheral chromatin, a central island of euchromatin, no nucleoli and no discernible nuclear pores. Apoptotic nuclei were seen singly and within dense nuclear aggregations. Similar spatial patterns of nuclei and chromatin were seen in propidium iodide-stained sections at 13-41 weeks. Whilst the relative incidence of intensely fluorescent nuclei remained constant, absolute numbers increased linearly during gestation and correlated positively with the volume of syncytial knots. Nuclei labelled for DNA fragmentation occurred very infrequently and were also found in nuclear clusters as well as singly. We suggest that nuclear differentiation in syncytium has two phases: on entering syncytium, nuclei become committed to a long programmed pre-apoptotic phase which leads to a short apoptotic execution phase. We propose further that clustered nuclei (pre-apoptotic and apoptotic) in syncytial knots probably represent the extrusion component of normal continuous epithelial turnover.
Conversation-based support for requirement definition by a Personal Design Assistant

A Personal Design Assistant (PDA) is an agent program that supports a designer whose role is to support an engineer who defines design specifications during system development. The PDA is a multi-agent system consisting of a conversation agent, design skill agents, a user model, an ontology, a planning function to support, communication and collaboration with other agents and designers. The PDA is designed, based on the model of PA (Personal Assistant) provided by the OMAS framework. In this paper, we propose a conceptual design of a PDA conversation-based support for a process of requirement definition of a system development.
Explaining cross-linguistic rhythmic variability via a coupled-oscillator model of rhythm production

A recent work by Ramus and colleagues has renewed the interest in rhythm typology connected to the evaluation of speech production data. They proposed that differences in rhythm type could be accounted for by a segmental set of variables derived from the acoustic duration of consonants and vowels. However, rhythm typology can be more interestingly characterized and understood by modeling speech rhythm production. The purpose of our study is then threefold: (a) showing why a deeper understanding of languages’ rhythmic types can only be achieved by modeling their underlying rhythmic systems; (b) presenting the results of the implementation of a coupled-oscillator rhythmic system which simulates language-specific continuous patterns of syllable-sized durations; (c) suggesting that only a rhythmic system integrated to a gestural framework can account for the complexity of rhythm phenomena.
Construction and validation of an Animal-Human Continuity Scale

A 12-item Animal-Human Continuity Scale with a Likert-type 7-option format was constructed to measure the extent to which the respondent views humans and animals in a dichotomous fashion vs. on a continuum. After the generation of items on a rational basis, item selection was based on ratings of content validity followed by item-total score correlation based on a sample of 88 graduate students, faculty and university staff participants. The scale contained such items as “Humans can think but animals cannot”, “People evolved from lower animals”, and “People have a spiritual nature but animals do not”. A Cronbach’s alpha of . 69 was obtained. The scale yielded three factors – “rational capacity”, “superiority vs. equality”, and “evolutionary continuum”. More traditionally religious participants tended to respond in the dichotomous direction. In another validation project a significant difference in the expected direction was found for participants from a Unitarian Universalist church (in the continuous direction) and a conservative Methodist church (dichotomous direction). Implications for the use of this instrument in the measurement of individual differences are discussed.