Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hand in hand: automatic sign language to English translation

In this paper, we describe the first data-driven automatic sign-language-to- speech translation system. While both sign language (SL) recognition and translation techniques exist, both use an intermediate notation system not directly intelligible for untrained users. We combine a SL recognizing framework with a state-of-the-art phrase-based machine translation (MT) system, using corpora of both American Sign Language and Irish Sign Language data. In a set of experiments we show the overall results and also illustrate the importance of including a vision-based knowledge source in the development of a complete SL translation system.
On the Performance of Ant-based Clustering

Ant-based clustering and sorting is a nature-inspired heuristic for general clustering tasks. It has been applied variously, from problems arising in commerce, to circuit design, to text-mining, all with some promise. However, although early results were broadly encouraging, there has been very limited analytical evaluation of the algorithm. Toward this end, we first propose a scheme that enables unbiased interpretation of the clustering solutions obtained, and then use this to conduct a full evaluation of the algorithm. Our analysis uses three sets each of real and artificial data, and four distinct analytical measures. These results are compared with those obtained using established clustering techniques and we find evidence that ant-based clustering is a robust and viable alternative.
Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism

The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) is committed to advocating for the rights of all students to be educated in safe schools and communities free from prejudice and discrimination. NASP is committed to ensuring that all children receive high-quality, equitable opportunities to learn in educational environments where their rights are protected consistent with NASP’s professional guidelines and federal legislation (e.g., Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). Positive educational and social outcomes for all children and youth are possible only in a society—and schools within it—that guarantees equitable treatment to all people, regardless of race, class, culture, language, gender, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, citizenship, ability, and other dimensions of difference. NASP firmly believes that all students are entitled to an education that affirms and validates the diversity of their cultural and individual differences, fosters resilience, and facilitates well-being and positive academic and mental health outcomes.
On the Detection of Concept Changes in Time-Varying Data Stream by Testing Exchangeability

A martingale framework for concept change detection based on testing data exchangeability was recently proposed (Ho, 2005). In this paper, we describe the proposed change-detection test based on the Doob's Maximal Inequality and show that it is an approximation of the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT). The relationship between the threshold value used in the proposed test and its size and power is deduced from the approximation. The mean delay time before a change is detected is estimated using the average sample number of a SPRT. The performance of the test using various threshold values is examined on five different data stream scenarios simulated using two synthetic data sets. Finally, experimental results show that the test is effective in detecting changes in time-varying data streams simulated using three benchmark data sets.
Vital Signs: Heart Rate

The second vital sign to be discussed in this series is heart rate, sometimes referred to as pulse rate or just pulse. This variable gives a rough idea of a patient's cardiac status. It is simply a measure of the number of heart beats per minute. The simplest way to measure heart rate is to palpate (feel) an individual's pulse by placing a finger over an artery located close to the body surface, such as the radial artery in the wrist, and counting the number of pulsations felt over a minute's time. Thus, the only instrumentation that is really needed to measure this vital sign is a finger and a clock. Heart rate and breathing rate are, therefore, the easiest of the four vital signs to measure, and these variables can be determined without any electronic instrumentation; yet, there are applications where having electronic methods to measure this vital sign can be very useful and can provide information that is not readily available from palpating and counting the pulse. This paper presents various electronic instruments to determine the heart rate.
Effort as assessed by motivational arousal in identity-relevant tasks

A laboratory experiment investigated effort expenditure in an identity-relevant task. This research was guided by the hypothesis that high identity relevance per se does not automatically result in high effort. Extending J. W. Brehm's energization theory (Brehm, Wright, Solomon, Silka, & Greenberg, 1983), I predicted that high effort should be mobilized only if the task is high in both identity relevance and difficulty. This hypothesis was tested in a 2 × 2 factorial design in which identity relevance (relevant vs. irrelevant) and difficulty (easy vs. difficult) of a memory task were manipulated. The dependent variable, effort expenditure, was measured using physiological data (reactivity of heart rate and systolic blood pressure). These measures indicated, as expected, high effort expenditure only under the condition of an identity-relevant +difficult task, whereas the participants in all other conditions expended significantly less effort. By contrast, the analysis yielded no effects on self-reported ac.
Adaptive fault tolerant control for hydraulic actuators

Sudden or incipient faults can lead to a degradation in plant performance, impairment of important functions and eventual loss of safety. Thus, the diagnosis and accommodation of incipient faults in dynamical systems is important to meet performance and reliability requirements. This paper outlines a fault tolerant control algorithm for a hydraulic actuator with a faulty piston seal. An experimental setup capable of simulating different kinds of faults observed in hydraulic systems is constructed. A detailed nonlinear model of the experimental setup is developed and validated. A robust nonlinear control strategy is developed for position control of the actuator. A nonlinear stochastic parameter estimation algorithm is also developed and its effectiveness in estimating leakage faults is demonstrated. The nonlinear control strategy is then improved upon by adapting based on the online fault estimate. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the adaptive fault tolerant control strategy by maintaining a position tracking error below . 2mm compared to simple robust control for which the error increases to . 5mm as the fault size increases.
The Relationship of Parental Attachment and Psychological Separation to the Psychological Functioning of Young Adults

Abstract The authors explored the interrelations between attachment patterns and psychological separation from parents as well as the contribution of these variables to adaptive psychological functioning. Among 153 university students in Greece, there was a positive association between security of attachment and freedom from guilt, anxiety, and resentment toward one's parents (conflictual independence); in contrast, there was an inverse relation between security of attachment and independence from parents in relation to emotional, functional, and attitudinal independence. Compared with the insecurely attached students, the securely attached students also scored higher on measures of self-esteem and lower on measures of anxiety and loneliness.
Node lifetime assessment based routing for wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks accommodate an oversized range of nodes with restricted battery power. As networks of those nodes are sometimes deployed unattended, network lifetime becomes a very important concern. Also estimating the lifetime accurately is a problem. Existing methods provide lifetime estimation technique using current consumption and battery capacity as impact factors. It failed to provide correct lifetime and not integrated with the routing method. In this paper we implemented a method to dynamically estimate the lifetime of the node with current consumption, battery capacity and temperature as impact factors. Additionally it is integrated with routing method. In this paper, Routing Protocol for Low power lossy networks (RPL) is employed. The target function of RPL uses rank and (Expected Transmission Count (ETX) as metrics to build the Direct Acyclic Graph and data transmission is done based on the lifetime of the node to extend the lifetime of the network. The simulation used is Cooja simulator in Contiki OS.
Sex Ratios and Risky Sexual Behavior

Epidemiologists have suggested that racial disparities in sexually transmitted infections are due to more concurrency in Black sexual networks. We argue that a relative shortage of Black males, caused by higher Black incarceration, increases concurrency. We test this hypothesis using data from the 2000 Census and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997). Because incarceration does not affect sex ratios until early adulthood, we focus on males from adolescent to adulthood, and use variation in an age-, race-, and state-level sex ratio to identify its effect on risky sexual behavior. Our evidence suggests that changes in the sex ratio causes Blacks to have between 1.2 - 2.0 additional partners a year, whereas its effect on condom-use is unclear.
Surveillance of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection among children in Beijing from 2007 to 2012

Background Mycoplasma pneumonia (M. pneumoniae) is one of the key pathogens of community‐acquired pneumonia. A global pandemic of M. pneumoniae has occurred since 2010. The aim of this study was to survey the prevalence of M. pneumoniae in children in Beijing from 2007–2012. Methods A total of 3 073 clinical specimens were obtained from pediatric patients with respiratory tract infections from January 2007 to December 2012, and examined by nested polymerase chain reaction. PCR products were visualized by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis, positive products sequenced, and compared with reference sequences in GenBank. Macrolide resistance‐associated mutations were also detected for some positive samples. Results Of the 3 073 specimens, 588 (19.13%) were positive for M. pneumoniae, 12.4% of which were accompanied by viral infections. Positive rates for M. pneumoniae were highest in 2007 and 2012, showing a significant difference when compared with other years. Infections tended to occur in autumn and winter and positive rates were significantly higher for children aged 3–16. The rate of macrolide resistance‐associated mutations was 90.7%, and the predominant mutation was an A→G transition (89.92%) at position 2063 in domain V of the 23S rRNA gene. Conclusions M. pneumoniae outbreaks occurred in 2007 and 2012 in pediatric patients in Beijing, which is consistent with the global prevalence of M. pneumoniae. M. pneumoniae can cause multi‐system infections in children, and may be accompanied with viral infections. We determined that school‐age children are more susceptible to this disease, particularly in autumn and winter. Gene mutations associated with macrolide resistance were very common in M. pneumoniae‐positive specimens during this period in Beijing.
Analysis of expression patterns of ScL and Pax 7 in the mouse brain for potential concomitant function within the mesencephalon

Investigation of the cascade of events that leads to brain formation during embryogenesis allows an understanding of the processes involved that may well be applicable to future neurodegenerative therapies. Two genes at work during embryonic neurogenesis in a brain region called the superior colliculus are Sci, a member of the basic helix-loop-helix factor transcription factor family and Pax7, a paired box transcription factor containing a homeobox dornain. The superior coiliculus forms part of the visual system in mammals and in sepmate studies both the Sci and Pax? genes have been shown to be present in this fegion of the mouse brain from early neurogenesis onwards continuing into adulthood. This study was undertaken to ascertain whether both genes were operating within the same cells suggesting that they may be part of the same cascade of gene regulat()ry events during development or co-function in cells of the mature superior colliculus. Mice were analysed at seven different timepoints from embryonic day (E) 12.5, El5.5, El8.5 to the day of birth, postnatal day (P) 5, at weaning (P21) and in the adult brain. Their dissected brains were cryosectioncd and processed for (immuno)histochemistry. Preliminary results were generated with LacZ stainin! T to detect Sci expression and immunoperoxidase staining to detect Pax7. Confocal microscopy of (immune )fluorescent stained sections confirmed co-expression. Interestingly, expression of the Sc1 and Paxl transcription factors was found to overlap in a large subset of Pax? and Sci positive cells in the superficial layers of the mature superior colliculus and co-localisation in these cells was confirmed. By contrast, Paxl and Sci did not co-localise in these cells during embryonic neurogenesis. Compared with a range of neurogenic transcription factors that are down-regulated after embryonic neurogenesis, the continued expression of Scl and Paxl in the adult brain suggests a possible change in function from neuronal differentiation before birth to a possible concomitant maintenance of the cellular phenotype function in the adult brain. The lack of co-expression in the embry . mic brain does not support the hypothesis that Paxl and Sci are involved in the same developmental cascade of gene regulation. However, the finding that Pax? and Sci co-localise in mature neurons of the superior colliculus does allow for co-function of these two transcription factors.
Beat Tracking by Dynamic Programming

Abstract Beat tracking – i.e. deriving from a music audio signal a sequence of beat instants that might correspond to when a human listener would tap his foot – involves satisfying two constraints. On the one hand, the selected instants should generally correspond to moments in the audio where a beat is indicated, for instance by the onset of a note played by one of the instruments. On the other hand, the set of beats should reflect a locally-constant inter-beat-interval, since it is this regular spacing between beat times that defines musical rhythm. These dual constraints map neatly onto the two constraints optimized in dynamic programming, the local match, and the transition cost. We describe a beat tracking system which first estimates a global tempo, uses this tempo to construct a transition cost function, then uses dynamic programming to find the best-scoring set of beat times that reflect the tempo as well as corresponding to moments of high ‘onset strength’ in a function derived from the audio. This very simple and computationally efficient procedure is shown to perform well on the MIREX-06 beat tracking training data, achieving an average beat accuracy of just under 60% on the development data. We also examine the impact of the assumption of a fixed target tempo, and show that the system is typically able to track tempo changes in a range of ±10% of the target tempo.
Accessing Data Integration Systems through Conceptual Schemas ? ( extended abstract )

Data integration systems provide access to a set of heterogeneous, autonomous data sources through a so-called global, or mediated view. There is a general consensus that the best way to describe the global view is through a conceptual data model, and that there are basically two approaches for designing a data integration system. In the global-as-view approach (GAV), one defines the concepts in the global schema as views over the sources, whereas in the local-as-view approach (LAV) one characterizes the sources as views over the global schema. While it is known that query processing in LAV is a complex task, it is a common opinion that it is much easier in GAV. In this paper we show the surprising result that, when the global schema is expressed in terms of a conceptual data model, even a very simple one, query processing becomes difficult in the global-as-view approach also. We demonstrate that the problem of incomplete information arises in this case too, and we illustrate some basic techniques for effectively answering queries posed to the global schema of the data integration system.
Cerebrospinal fluid profiles with increasing number of cerebral microbleeds in a continuum of cognitive impairment

Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are hypothesised to have an important yet unknown role in the dementia disease pathology. In this study we analysed increasing number of CMBs and their independent associations with routine cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers in a continuum of cognitive impairment. A total of 1039 patients undergoing dementia investigation were analysed and underwent lumbar puncture, and an MRI scan. CSF samples were analysed for amyloid β (Aβ) 42, total tau (T-tau), tau phosphorylated at threonine 18 (P-tau) and CSF/serum albumin ratios. Increasing number of CMBs were independently associated with low Aβ42 levels, in the whole cohort, Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment (p < 0.05). CSF/serum albumin ratios were high with multiple CMBs (p < 0.001), reflecting accompanying blood–brain barrier dysfunction. T-tau and P-tau levels were lower in Alzheimer’s patients with multiple CMBs when compared to zero CMBs, but did not change in the rest of the cohort. White matter hyperintensities were associated with low Aβ42 in the whole cohort and Alzheimer’s disease (p < 0.05). Aβ42 is the routine CSF-biomarker mainly associated with CMBs in cognitive impairment, and there is an accumulative effect with increasing number of CMBs.
Handover Incentives for Self-Interested WLANs with Overlapping Coverage

We consider an environment where self-interested IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) have overlapping coverage, and investigate the incentives that can trigger handovers between the WLANs. Our focus is on the incentives for supporting handovers due solely to the improved performance for all wireless networks. Such incentives arise due to a well-known property of 802.11 networks, where low rate users that send traffic significantly degrade the performance of high rate users that are associated with the same access point. A key difference of this paper compared to other works is that WLANs are self-interested, seeking to improve the performance of their own clients. We develop a comprehensive analytical model for accurately identifying and quantifying the handover gains. The model captures cases such as uplink and downlink traffic, wired link capacity constraints, and nonsaturated traffic conditions, and yields a practical handover decision policy. Simulations and experiments on a real testbed verify the accuracy of the model, and indicate that significant gains can be achieved through performance-induced handover incentives.
Fostering Integrative Thinking: Adapting the Executive Education Model to the MBA Program———

Many full-time MBA programs limit their effectiveness by clinging to functionalism. At best, they have made incremental changes to meet the market demand for MBA graduates. These changes, in most cases, have failed to integrate the various functional facets of complex business challenges. For insights into how to do so, many business schools need look no further than their own executive programs. Executive programs typically emphasize the synergistic use of core competencies and delivery systems in a way that enables one to truly master business administration.
Acute and subchronic effects of amitriptyline 25mg on actual driving in chronic neuropathic pain patients

The acute and subchronic effects of low doses nocturnally administered amitriptyline were compared to placebo in a double-blind crossover randomized study on driving ability and driving-related skills involving seven chronic neuropathic pain patients. Performance testing occurred at the first and last day of each 15-day drug administration period, which was preceded by a 6-day washout phase. A standardized method of measuring driving ability, the on-the-road driving test, was performed on all visits. Patients were instructed to drive with a steady lateral position while maintaining a constant speed of 95km/h. The primary outcome of the driving test is the Standard Deviation of Lateral Position (SDLP, cm), which is an index of weaving of the car. At the first treatment day, driving performance was significantly impaired in patients after nocturnal administration of 25mg amitriptyline compared to placebo. The increase in SDLP of 3cm was higher than the increment generally observed with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.5mg/ml or higher, the legal limit for driving in many countries. Also, reaction times on a memory test were significantly increased, indicating worse performance after acute treatment of amitriptyline compared to placebo. In contrast, after 2 weeks of treatment, no significant differences were found between amitriptyline and placebo, suggesting that tolerance had developed to the impairing effects of amitriptyline.
Moving Toward a Better Understanding of the Work and Nonwork Interface

Given the growing popularity of work–life and work–family issues in organizations and society in general, we were pleased to see Kossek, Baltes, and Matthews (2011) highlight at least two deficiencies that abound in the literature on the interface between work and nonwork demands. Specifically, Kossek et al. indicate that this area of research suffers from misguided assumptions regarding the universality of work and nonwork demands and inadequate framing of the interaction between the work and nonwork interface. Here, we outline some points of agreement with Kossek and colleagues, as well as where our perspectives and conclusions diverge. Finally, we discuss how our interpretation of these issues may lead to a fifth path to facilitate research and practice in the work and nonwork interface.
Middle School Boys’ Perspectives on Social Relationships With Peers With Disabilities

Factors that contribute to the development of positive peer relationships between middle-school students with and without disabilities are investigated. Eight typically developing, seventh-grade boys participate in semi-structured interviews to discern their perspectives of the personal benefits or challenges associated with having social relationships with classmates who have disabilities. Data coding reveal five themes that relate to the formation of positive peer relationships: (a) perceived similarity in interests and ability, (b) the role of the adolescent without disabilities in the relationship, (c) amount of time spent together, (d) peer reactions towards students with disabilities, and (e) adult behavior towards students with disabilities. A theory of congruence and mutuality in peer relationships emerges from the data analysis to explain middle school relationships between students with and without disabilities.