Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Précis of Semantic Cognition: A Parallel Distributed Processing Approach

Abstract In this précis of our recent book, Semantic Cognition: A Parallel Distributed Processing Approach (Rogers & McClelland 2004), we present a parallel distributed processing theory of the acquisition, representation, and use of human semantic knowledge. The theory proposes that semantic abilities arise from the flow of activation among simple, neuron-like processing units, as governed by the strengths of interconnecting weights; and that acquisition of new semantic information involves the gradual adjustment of weights in the system in response to experience. These simple ideas explain a wide range of empirical phenomena from studies of categorization, lexical acquisition, and disordered semantic cognition. In this précis we focus on phenomena central to the reaction against similarity-based theories that arose in the 1980s and that subsequently motivated the “theory-theory” approach to semantic knowledge. Specifically, we consider (1) how concepts differentiate in early development, (2) why some groupings of items seem to form “good” or coherent categories while others do not, (3) why different properties seem central or important to different concepts, (4) why children and adults sometimes attest to beliefs that seem to contradict their direct experience, (5) how concepts reorganize between the ages of 4 and 10, and (6) the relationship between causal knowledge and semantic knowledge. The explanations our theory offers for these phenomena are illustrated with reference to a simple feed-forward connectionist model. The relationships between this simple model, the broader theory, and more general issues in cognitive science are discussed.
Chemical Fragment Spaces for de novo Design

Chemical fragment spaces are combinations of molecular fragments and connection rules. They offer the possibility to encode an enormously large number of chemical structures in a very compact format. Fragment spaces are useful both in similarity-based (2D) and structure-based (3D) de novo design applications. We present disconnection and filtering rules leading to several thousand unique, medium size fragments when applied to databases of druglike molecules. We evaluate alternative strategies to select subsets of these fragments, with the aim of maximizing the coverage of known druglike chemical space with a strongly reduced set of fragments. For these evaluations, we use the Ftrees fragment space method. We assess a diversity-oriented selection method based on maximum common substructures and a method biased toward high frequency of occurrence of fragments and find that they are complementary to each other.
A primal sub-gradient method for structured classification with the averaged sum loss

Abstract We present a primal sub-gradient method for structured SVM optimization defined with the averaged sum of hinge losses inside each example. Compared with the mini-batch version of the Pegasos algorithm for the structured case, which deals with a single structure from each of multiple examples, our algorithm considers multiple structures from a single example in one update. This approach should increase the amount of information learned from the example. We show that the proposed version with the averaged sum loss has at least the same guarantees in terms of the prediction loss as the stochastic version. Experiments are conducted on two sequence labeling problems, shallow parsing and part-of-speech tagging, and also include a comparison with other popular sequential structured learning algorithms.
The Role of Causal Attributions in Survivors’ Emotional Reactions to Downsizing

Weiner’s (1986) theory of attribution was used for analyzing discrete emotions survivors of downsizing may experience as a function of perceived causes for survival. The study considered emotions not studied in previous research (e.g., pride) and their relation to organizational factors (e.g., organizational citizenship behavior). Moreover, this analysis goes beyond previous research that studied broad affective constructs such as anxiety by also considering positive emotions. Suggested understandings can advance research and facilitate better personal and organizational consequences of downsizing as these are reflected in human resource and human resource development policies and interventions.
How Negative Interactions Affect Relationship Satisfaction

When people are more committed to a relationship, do they become more vulnerable or more resilient to the impacts of negative interactions with the partner? Although most studies emphasize the positive role of commitment in romantic relationship, the answer to the above question may differ in the short term versus in the long term. We conducted a 14-day daily diary study and a 7-month follow-up with 100 participants who are currently in a serious romantic relationship. Results revealed the paradoxical short-term and long-term effects of commitment. Commitment to the relationship intensified both the short-term detrimental effect and the long-term beneficial effect of negative interactions on relationship satisfaction. Personal stress was found to partially explain the short-term effects of negative interactions and commitment. When people become committed to a relationship, they are more vulnerable to the impacts of negative interactions in the short term but more resilient to the impacts in the long run.
Ensemble of Anchor Adapters for Transfer Learning

In the past decade, there have been a large number of transfer learning algorithms proposed for various real-world applications. However, most of them are vulnerable to negative transfer since their performance is even worse than traditional supervised models. Aiming at more robust transfer learning models, we propose an ENsemble framework of anCHOR adapters (ENCHOR for short), in which an anchor adapter adapts the features of instances based on their similarities to a specific anchor (i.e., a selected instance). Specifically, the more similar to the anchor instance, the higher degree of the original feature of an instance remains unchanged in the adapted representation, and vice versa. This adapted representation for the data actually expresses the local structure around the corresponding anchor, and then any transfer learning method can be applied to this adapted representation for a prediction model, which focuses more on the neighborhood of the anchor. Next, based on multiple anchors, multiple anchor adapters can be built and combined into an ensemble for final output. Additionally, we develop an effective measure to select the anchors for ensemble building to achieve further performance improvement. Extensive experiments on hundreds of text classification tasks are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of ENCHOR. The results show that: when traditional supervised models perform poorly, ENCHOR (based on only 8 selected anchors) achieves $6%-13%$ increase in terms of average accuracy compared with the state-of-the-art methods, and it greatly alleviates negative transfer.
Suppression of sidelobe level and sideband of time-modulated linear antenna arrays by using NSDE

Nondominated sorting differential evolution (NSDE) is applied to simultaneously suppress sidelobe level (SLL) and sideband level (SBL) in time-modulated linear antenna arrays. The SLL and SBL of a time-modulated linear array can be reduced by optimizing excitation amplitudes and the switch-on time intervals of each element. Numerical results confirm the effectiveness and flexibility of this method.
Motivational Effects of Adding Context Relevant Stress in PC-Based Game Training

This work was designed to examine the effects of contextually relevant stress on personal computer (PC)-based game training. Off-the-shelf PC-based games are being applied to many training situations because of their affordability, flexibility, and teaming capabilities. The ultimate purpose of training is to transfer superior performance to the real world. In this respect, 1 of the major drawbacks to using games as training tools, especially for military applications, is the absence of the surrounding context. In response to this omission, we examined the effects of adding context-rele-vant stress to infantry game-based training by exposing 1 group of participants to a graphically intense and stressful experience while the control group viewed an unstressful analog. Pre–post self-reported stress levels confirmed the efficacy of this manipulation. The stress condition produced significantly higher scores on “mission success”; however, no differences were evident in participants’ use of trained tactics or game functions. Supplementing context-relevant stress in game training shows promise for enhancing individuals’ motivation to succeed.
Microglial VPAC1R mediates a novel mechanism of neuroimmune-modulation of hippocampal precursor cells via IL-4 release

Neurogenesis, the production of new neurons from neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs), occurs throughout adulthood in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, where it supports learning and memory. The innate and adaptive immune systems are increasingly recognized as important modulators of hippocampal neurogenesis under both physiological and pathological conditions. However, the mechanisms by which the immune system regulates hippocampal neurogenesis are incompletely understood. In particular, the role of microglia, the brains resident immune cell is complex, as they have been reported to both positively and negatively regulate neurogenesis. Interestingly, neuronal activity can also regulate the function of the immune system. Here, we show that depleting microglia from hippocampal cultures reduces NSPC survival and proliferation. Furthermore, addition of purified hippocampal microglia, or their conditioned media, is trophic and proliferative to NSPCs. VIP, a neuropeptide released by dentate gyrus interneurons, enhances the proliferative and pro‐neurogenic effect of microglia via the VPAC1 receptor. This VIP‐induced enhancement is mediated by IL‐4 release, which directly targets NSPCs. This demonstrates a potential neuro‐immuno‐neurogenic pathway, disruption of which may have significant implications in conditions where combined cognitive impairments, interneuron loss, and immune system activation occurs, such as temporal lobe epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. GLIA 2014;62:1313–1327
Improving motion compensated Extrapolation for Distributed Video Coding

The ongoing research in Distributed Video Coding (DVC) for low complexity encoding is trying to shorten the substantial performance gap to well known state-of-the-art coders. We discuss the role of motion estimation and compensation with regard to the new constraints given by DVC. Furthermore we investigate different improvements of the introduced motion compensated extrapolation scheme as well as the reasons for choosing it. With these the quality of the side information can be enhanced. Among the improvements discussed in this paper are backward motion compensation, hole filling and bilateral filtering.
Dead reckoning in a dynamic quadruped robot: Inertial navigation system aided by a legged odometer

It is an important ability for any mobile robot to be able to estimate its posture and to gauge the distance it travelled. The information can be obtained from various sources. In this work, we have addressed this problem in a dynamic quadruped robot. We have designed and implemented a navigation algorithm for full body state (position, velocity, and attitude) estimation that does not use any external reference (such as GPS, or visual landmarks). Extended Kalman Filter was used to provide error estimation and data fusion from two independent sources of information: Inertial Navigation System mechanization algorithm processing raw inertial data, and legged odometry, which provided velocity aiding. We present a novel data-driven architecture for legged odometry that relies on a combination of joint sensor signals and pressure sensors. Our navigation system ensures precise tracking of a running robot's posture (roll and pitch), and satisfactory tracking of its position over medium time intervals. We have shown our method to work for two different dynamic turning gaits and on two terrains with significantly different friction. We have also successfully demonstrated how our method generalizes to different velocities.
Conscious Vision Proceeds from Global to Local Content in Goal-Directed Tasks and Spontaneous Vision

The reverse hierarchy theory (Hochstein and Ahissar, 2002) makes strong, but so far untested, predictions on conscious vision. In this theory, local details encoded in lower-order visual areas are unconsciously processed before being automatically and rapidly combined into global information in higher-order visual areas, where conscious percepts emerge. Contingent on current goals, local details can afterward be consciously retrieved. This model therefore predicts that (1) global information is perceived faster than local details, (2) global information is computed regardless of task demands during early visual processing, and (3) spontaneous vision is dominated by global percepts. We designed novel textured stimuli that are, as opposed to the classic Navon's letters, truly hierarchical (i.e., where global information is solely defined by local information but where local and global orientations can still be manipulated separately). In line with the predictions, observers were systematically faster reporting global than local properties of those stimuli. Second, global information could be decoded from magneto-encephalographic data during early visual processing regardless of task demands. Last, spontaneous subjective reports were dominated by global information and the frequency and speed of spontaneous global perception correlated with the accuracy and speed in the global task. No such correlation was observed for local information. We therefore show that information at different levels of the visual hierarchy is not equally likely to become conscious; rather, conscious percepts emerge preferentially at a global level. We further show that spontaneous reports can be reliable and are tightly linked to objective performance at the global level. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Is information encoded at different levels of the visual system (local details in low-level areas vs global shapes in high-level areas) equally likely to become conscious? We designed new hierarchical stimuli and provide the first empirical evidence based on behavioral and MEG data that global information encoded at high levels of the visual hierarchy dominates perception. This result held both in the presence and in the absence of task demands. The preferential emergence of percepts at high levels can account for two properties of conscious vision, namely, the dominance of global percepts and the feeling of visual richness reported independently of the perception of local details.
H1N1 2009 Pandemic Influenza Virus: Resistance of the I223R Neuraminidase Mutant Explained by Kinetic and Structural Analysis

Two classes of antiviral drugs, neuraminidase inhibitors and adamantanes, are approved for prophylaxis and therapy against influenza virus infections. A major concern is that antiviral resistant viruses emerge and spread in the human population. The 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus is already resistant to adamantanes. Recently, a novel neuraminidase inhibitor resistance mutation I223R was identified in the neuraminidase of this subtype. To understand the resistance mechanism of this mutation, the enzymatic properties of the I223R mutant, together with the most frequently observed resistance mutation, H275Y, and the double mutant I223R/H275Y were compared. Relative to wild type, KM values for MUNANA increased only 2-fold for the single I223R mutant and up to 8-fold for the double mutant. Oseltamivir inhibition constants (KI) increased 48-fold in the single I223R mutant and 7500-fold in the double mutant. In both cases the change was largely accounted for by an increased dissociation rate constant for oseltamivir, but the inhibition constants for zanamivir were less increased. We have used X-ray crystallography to better understand the effect of mutation I223R on drug binding. We find that there is shrinkage of a hydrophobic pocket in the active site as a result of the I223R change. Furthermore, R223 interacts with S247 which changes the rotamer it adopts and, consequently, binding of the pentoxyl substituent of oseltamivir is not as favorable as in the wild type. However, the polar glycerol substituent present in zanamivir, which mimics the natural substrate, is accommodated in the I223R mutant structure in a similar way to wild type, thus explaining the kinetic data. Our structural data also show that, in contrast to a recently reported structure, the active site of 2009 pandemic neuraminidase can adopt an open conformation.
18F-FDG PET Imaging in the Evaluation of Treatment Response to New Chemotherapies beyond Imatinib for Patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Aim. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) is a powerful tool for staging and defining “good responders” to chemotherapy in tumor setting. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are sarcoma involving gastrointestinal tract and may require a chemotherapy including imatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor agent. Some GIST patients become refractory to imatinib; therefore, other tyrosine kinase inhibitors or concomitant chemotherapy may be considered for treatment. The aim of this paper is to assess if 18F-FDG PET imaging is a useful tool to evaluate treatment response to new chemotherapies beyond imatinib for GIST patients. Methods. We performed a review of the literature about the role of 18F-FDG PET in the evaluation of treatment response to new chemotherapies beyond imatinib for GIST patients. Results and Conclusions. 18F-FDG PET seems to be able to assess therapy response earlier than computed tomography (CT) imaging in imatinib refractory GIST patients treated with other agents. However, a dual modality PET-CT imaging is recommendable to achieve a better detection of all lesions.
The Culture of Teaching in the Midst of Western Influence: The Case of Hong Kong Kindergartens

Kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong are often criticised for not putting early childhood education theory into practice after their in-service training. It appears that they may be too concerned about academic work and discipline in the classroom and neglect to create a coherent vision of early childhood education. It might be suggested that kindergarten teachers have difficulties in coping with reform that advocates child-centred teaching approaches and active learning as the idealised vision of early childhood education when they have to cope with the Chinese cultural influence and parental demands for an early academic start. This article reviews the current teacher education provision and the cultural context of education in Hong Kong, and tracks the classroom strategies of kindergarten teachers in nine case studies. The findings of the study suggest that there is a general pattern for teaching in kindergartens. The culture of teaching tends to reflect the coping strategies of the teachers to overcome a triangle of potentially conflicting expectations and orientations: the vision of early childhood education, the Chinese culture, and local constraints. Moreover, simply training teachers would not ultimately change their practice unless the environment in which teachers work facilitated this. In view of this, teacher development and change are most possible if there is a change in views and attitudes towards teaching.
Advanced Coding Techniques for Long-Range Raman/BOTDA Distributed Strain and Temperature Measurements

We provide an overview of the use of optical pulse coding to enhance the performances of long-range distributed optical fiber sensors for strain and temperature measurements. First, pulse coding techniques are introduced for distributed sensing, emphasizing in particular the advantages of advanced cyclic coding for fast distributed strain and simultaneous temperature measurements. Pulse coding techniques in Raman-based distributed temperature sensors employing multimode graded index fibers are introduced, also outlining their potential to achieve meter-scale long-distance sensing in standard single-mode fibers (SMF). The use of Simplex coding in Brillouin optical time-domain analysis (BOTDA) sensors is then described, showing accurate ultralong-distance sensing with meter-scale spatial resolution. Finally, the implementation of advanced cyclic coding in a hybrid Raman/BOTDA distributed sensor is presented, allowing fast long-distance strain and simultaneous temperature measurements over the same SMF, using a single narrowband laser with meter-scale spatial resolution. We show that advanced cyclic Simplex coding enables long-distance strain sensing with subsecond measurement times, also overcoming the typical temperature and strain cross-sensitivity issue affecting standard BOTDA sensors.
Association of socioeconomic status with iodine supply and thyroid disorders in northeast Germany.

OBJECTIVES Studies on the potential association of socioeconomic status with iodine supply and the risk for thyroid disorders from developed countries are sparse. Socioeconomic status, however, may particularly impact the efficiency of iodine prophylaxis programs, which are based on the voluntary principle. This study aims to investigate whether the socioeconomic status is cross-sectionally and longitudinally related to low urinary excretion or thyroid disorders in the population of northeast Germany. METHODS Data of the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania were used. The study population comprised 4056 adults for cross-sectional and 2860 adults for longitudinal analyses. Assessment of socioeconomic status comprised different scales of education, income, employment, and occupation. Thyroid-related outcomes included urinary iodine excretion, serum thyrotropin, and sonographically defined goiter and nodules. Statistical analyses were adjusted for confounders. RESULTS Some of the socioeconomic variables were associated with thyroid-related characteristics in cross-sectional analyses. For example, there was an overall tendency for groups with higher education and higher income to have larger thyroid volumes and an increased risk of goiter. However, most of these associations did not attain statistical significance after correcting the target p-value for multiple testing. Longitudinal analyses did not demonstrate consistent results. CONCLUSIONS Socioeconomic status neither substantially influences iodine supply nor does it have a major impact on the prevalence and incidence of thyroid deficiency-related disorders in the adult population of northeast Germany, indicating a good efficacy of the German iodine fortification program in all socioeconomic groups.
Negative Life Events, Patterns of Positive and Negative Religious Coping, and Psychological Functioning

Religious coping may or may not be adaptive depending upon whether such coping is positive or negative. We investigated the potential moderating effects of positive and negative religious coping patterns on the relationship between negative life events and psychological functioning. Questionnaires included measures of negative life events, positive and negative religious coping, and psychological functioning, and were completed by 336 adult, Protestant church members. Even after controlling for religious participation, negative events were related to increased use of positive and negative religious coping and decreased psychological functioning. Moreover, negative events and positive religious coping produced an interaction effect on depression, such that the high use of positive religious coping buffered the deleterious effects of negative events.