Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feature Selection in Simple Neurons: How Coding Depends on Spiking Dynamics

The relationship between a neuron's complex inputs and its spiking output defines the neuron's coding strategy. This is frequently and effectively modeled phenomenologically by one or more linear filters that extract the components of the stimulus that are relevant for triggering spikes and a nonlinear function that relates stimulus to firing probability. In many sensory systems, these two components of the coding strategy are found to adapt to changes in the statistics of the inputs in such a way as to improve information transmission. Here, we show for two simple neuron models how feature selectivity as captured by the spike-triggered average depends on both the parameters of the model and the statistical characteristics of the input.
The Professionalisation of Financial Advice in Britain

This paper reviews the impact of increasing state regulation of financial advice and its effect in requiring much higher levels of competence and probity, so stimulating professionalisation, though in doing so, pre-empting the traditional role of established professional bodies in securing competence and probity. Is it still possible at the end of the twentieth century for new professions to emerge? If so, is a new model of the professions in prospect?
Fast symbolic road marking and stop-line detection for vehicle localization

This paper proposes a fast method for detecting symbolic road markings (SRMs) and stop-lines. The proposed method efficiently restricts the search area based on the lane detection results and finds SRMs and stop-lines in a cost-effective manner. The SRM detector generates multiple SRM candidates using a top-hat filter and projection histogram and classifies their types using a histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) feature and total error rate (TER)-based classifier. The stop-line detector creates stop-line candidates via random sample consensus (RANSAC)-based parallel line pair estimation and verifies them using the HOG feature and TER-based classifier. The proposed method achieves reasonable detection rates and extremely low false positive rates along with a fast computing time.
Glucagon-like Peptide-2 Receptor Activation Engages Bad and Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 in a Protein Kinase A-dependent Manner and Prevents Apoptosis following Inhibition of Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase*

Activation of glucagon-like peptide-2 receptor (GLP-2R) signaling promotes expansion of the mucosal epithelium indirectly via activation of growth and anti-apoptotic pathways; however, the cellular mechanisms coupling direct GLP-2R activation to cell survival remain poorly understood. We now demonstrate that GLP-2, in a cycloheximide-insensitive manner, enhanced survival in baby hamster kidney cells stably transfected with the rat GLP-2R; reduced mitochondrial cytochrome c efflux; and attenuated the caspase-dependent cleavage of Akt, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, and β-catenin following inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) by LY294002. The prosurvival effects of GLP-2 on LY294002-induced cell death were independent of Akt, p90Rsk, or p70 S6 kinase activation; were mimicked by forskolin; and were abrogated by inhibition of protein kinase A (PKA) activity. GLP-2 inhibited activation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) through phosphorylation at Ser21 in GSK-3α and at Ser9 in GSK-3β in a PI3K-independent, PKA-dependent manner. GLP-2 reduced LY294002-induced mitochondrial association of endogenous Bad and Bax and stimulated phosphorylation of a transfected Bad fusion protein at Ser155 in a PI3K-independent, but H89-sensitive manner, a modification known to suppress Bad pro-apoptotic activity. These results suggest that GLP-2R signaling enhances cell survival independently of PI3K/Akt by inhibiting the activity of a subset of pro-apoptotic downstream targets of Akt in a PKA-dependent manner.
An Automatic Discovery Framework of Cross-Source Data Inconsistency for Web Big Data

The vigorous growth of big data has triggered both opportunities and challenges in business and industry. However, Web big data distributed in diverse sources with multiple data structures frequently conflict with each other, i.e. inconsistency in cross-source Web big data. In this paper, we propose a state-of-the-art architecture of auto-discovering inconsistency with Web big data. Our contributions include: (1) we classify the inconsistency features to formalize inconsistency data and establish an algebraic operation system, (2) we propose three algorithms to auto-discover inconsistency, including constraint-based, SDA-based and HPDM-based method and (3) we conduct experiments on real-world dataset to compare aforesaid schemes with Oracle-based inconsistency detection framework. The empirical results show that our methods outperform traditional framework both on accuracy and efficiency under Web big data.
He Wero: The Challenge of Putting Your Body on the Line: Teaching and Learning in Anti‐Racist Practice1

This paper explores ways in which social workers, community workers and social work educators have developed anti‐racist practice in relation to indigenous issues in Aotearoa/New Zealand. A brief history of anti‐racism training in Aotearoa/New Zealand is provided, showing how this has been reflected in the Massey University Bachelor of Social Work programme. The core of the discussion describes the application of a structural analysis model to engage students in identifying their own culture and how they situate their experiences in relation to the indigenous Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Processes of Maori tikanga (custom) and whole person/soul learning are utilised to prepare students to engage with the Bicultural Code of Practice of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers, which mandates partnership under the Treaty of Waitangi, acknowledging Maori as the indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Defining the Thrombotic Risk in Patients with Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET) are two Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) associated with an acquired mutation in the JAK2 tyrosine kinase gene. There is a rare incidence of progression to myelofibrosis and myeloid metaplasia in both disorders, which may or may not precede transformation to acute myeloid leukemia, but thrombosis is the main cause of morbidity and mortality. The pathophysiology of thrombosis in patients with MPN is complex. Traditionally, abnormalities of platelet number and function have been claimed as the main players, but increased dynamic interactions between platelets, leukocytes, and the endothelium do probably represent a fundamental interplay in generating a thrombophilic state. In addition, endothelial dysfunction, a well-known risk factor for vascular disease, may play a role in the thrombotic risk of patients with PV and ET. The identification of plasma markers translating the hemostatic imbalance in patients with PV and ET would be extremely helpful in order to define the subgroup of patients with a significant clinical risk of thrombosis.
Reengineering the user: privacy concerns about personal data on smartphones

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss the privacy and security concerns that have risen from the permissions model in the Android operating system, along with two shortcomings that have not been adequately addressed. Design/methodology/approach – The impact of the applications’ evolutionary increment of permission requests from both the user’s and the developer’s point of view is studied, and finally, a series of remedies against the erosion of users’ privacy is proposed. Findings – The results of this work indicate that, even though providing access to personal data of smartphone users is by definition neither problematic nor unlawful, today’s smartphone operating systems do not provide an adequate level of protection for the user’s personal data. However, there are several ideas that can significantly improve the situation and mitigate privacy concerns of users of smart devices. Research limitations/implications – The proposed approach was evaluated through an examination of the Android’s permission mode.
African American Mothers with Deaf Children: A Womanist Conceptual Framework

Although the incidence of disability is more prevalent among African Americans than any other ethnic group in the United States, empirically based guidelines grounded in the unique history and experiences of African American caretakers of children with disabilities are limited. A qualitative, exploratory design consisting of in-depth thematic interviews with 12 nondeaf African American female caretakers of deaf children was used to identify unique responses and approaches incorporated in raising deaf children of African descent. The data analysis plan entailed a modified grounded theory approach. Womanism was used inductively and deductively in organizing emerging themes as an explanatory model.
Effects of Taping the Lower Back on the Lumbopelvic Region and Hip Joint Kinematics During Sit-to-Stand

Excessive lumbar flexion during sit-to-stand (STS) is a risk factor for lower back pain. Postural taping can prevent unwanted flexion of the lumbar spine. This study aimed to demonstrate the effect of taping the lower back on the lumbopelvic region and hip joint kinematics during STS. Sixteen healthy subjects participated. All subjects performed the STS with and without taping of the lower back. A three-dimensional motion analysis system was used to measure the kinematics of the lumbar spine, pelvis, and hip joint during STS. The angle of the peak lumbar flexion, pelvic anterior tilting, and hip flexion and angular displacement of the lumbar spine between starting position and maximal lumbar flexion were collected. Paired t-tests, or Wilcoxon’s rank-sum test for non-parametric distribution, were used to assess differences in the measurements with and without taping. A p-value <. 05 was taken to indicate a significant difference. Significant differences were observed in the angle of the peak lumbar flexion, pelvic anterior tilting, hip flexion and angular displacement of the lumbar spine (p<.05). Taping was associated with a significant decrease in the angle of peak lumbar flexion and angular displacement of the lumbar spine between the starting position and maximal lumbar spine flexion. In addition, the peak angle of pelvic anterior tilting and hip flexion were significantly increased with taping. The findings of this study suggest that taping the lower back can decrease excessive lumbar flexion, and increase the pelvic anterior tilting and hip flexion motion during STS.
In murine AIDS, B cells are early targets of defective virus and are required for efficient infection and expression of defective virus in T cells and macrophages

Previous studies showed that B cells and CD4+ T cells are required for induction of a murine retrovirus-induced immunodeficiency syndrome, murine AIDS. Using B6 mice deficient in mature B cells as a result of a knockout of the transmembrane exon of the immunoglobulin M gene, we found that spleen and other tissues from murine AIDS virus-infected mice did not express the defective virus (BM5def) required for induction of disease, even though helper viruses were readily detectable and BM5def proviral DNA was present. This indicates that the B-lineage cells are the primary targets for infection and expression of the defective virus and that in the absence of mature B cells, there is inefficient infection of T cells and macrophages.
Implementation of RS Encoder and RS Decoder using UHD Architecture

Solomon (RS) codes are a sort of non-binary cyclic codes. This code is widely used in wireless and mobile communication units. RS encoder along with RS decoder using UHD architecture is designed in this paper. In this brief, a novel low complexity reformulated inverse-free burst-error correction algorithm is developed. Then based on the Proposed RiBC algorithm, a Unified VLSI architecture is designed. It will be shown that, it can achieve high-speed, throughput and improved error correcting capability than Hard Decision Decoding (HDD) design with less area. A design of (7, 3) Reed Solomon encoder and Decoder are implemented using Verilog hardware description language (HDL) code, simulated and synthesized by XILINX ISE simulator.
Patterns of Sensory Processing in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The researchers conducted this study to compare the sensory responses of children whose primary diagnosis was Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and children without disabilities on the Sensory Profile, a parent-reporting measure of children's sensory responses in daily life (Dunn, 1999). Parents of 70 children 3 to 15 years old with a primary diagnosis of ADHD and parents of children without disabilities matched by age and gender completed the Sensory Profile. Researchers completed a series of Multivariate Analyses of Variance (MANOVA) with post hoc testing to compare the performance of the two groups of children. Children with ADHD differed significantly from children without disabilities in their sensory responsiveness based on Sensory Profile results. The Sensory Profile can contribute to diagnostic and program planning processes and increase understanding of the nature of the disorder of ADHD.
Constellations of family violence and their differential effects on children's behavioral disturbance

Three questions about the effects of family violence on children are addressed in this study: (1) What is the path between a mother's exposure early in her own life to abuse and other severe stresses and the likelihood that her children will be abused? ; (2) What is the relationship between different constellations of family violence and their effect on children's general behavioral disturbance? ; and (3) Can we differentiate between types of child behavioral disturbance on the basis of different parameters of family violence? Two New York City samples of school children were studied, one comprised of 106 physically abused children identified from the New York State Register of indicated abuse cases, and the other comprised of 85 of their non-maltreated classmates. Results showed that the intergenerational transmission of family violence was best described in terms of indirect effects, that children show general behavioral disturbance as a result of different constellations of family violence, and that it i.
Stepping Stones Triple P: the theoretical basis and development of an evidence‐based positive parenting program for families with a child who has a disability

Stepping Stones Triple P is the first in a series of programs based on the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program that has been specifically designed for families who have a child with a disability. This paper presents the rationale, theoretical foundations, historical development and distinguishing features of the program. The multi‐level intervention adopts a self‐regulation framework in consulting with parents that involves the promotion of parental self‐sufficiency, self‐efficacy, self‐management skills, personal agency and problem‐solving skills. This paper describes the key program design features, intervention techniques, model of clinical consultation, its clinical applicability, and empirical base. The 10‐session individually administered version of the program, known as Standard Stepping Stones Triple P is described and the important role of training, supervision and agency support in disseminating the program is discussed.
The sex differential in mortality rates: demographic and behavioral factors.

By using the 1965 Human Population Laboratory Survey of a random sample of 6928 adults in Alameda County, California, and a nine-year follow-up, mortality risk is examined by sex, while simultaneously controlling for 16 demographic and behavioral risk factors by a multiple logistic analysis. Risk factors include age, race, socioeconomic status, occupation, physical health status, use of health services, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, weight, sleeping patterns, marital status, social contacts, church and group membership and life satisfaction. The prevalence and relative mortality risk of each factor combine to influence the sex differential. The unadjusted relative mortality risk for men compared to women is 1.5 (p less than or equal to 0.001). Adjustment for some factors (e.g., smoking and alcohol) decreases this difference, while other adjustments (e.g., for physical activity, physical health status and marital status) increase the difference. Adjustment for all 16 factors slightly increases the relative risk to 1.7 (p less than or equal to 0.001). These demographic and behavioral risk factors do not account for the overall sex difference in mortality rates. Examination of the interaction of biologic and behavioral risk factors may more fully explain the sex differential in mortality.
Rescue of K562 cells from MDM2‐modulated p53‐dependent apoptosis by growth factor‐induced differentiation

The wild‐type human MDM2 protooncogene was tested for its ability to modulate apoptotic activity of the de novo expressed p53 tumor suppressor gene in K562 cells. We also studied the role ofsome cytokines in this phenomenon. K562, a human myeloid leukemia cell line, does not express p53 at the mRNA or protein level. In this study, we stably transfected K562 with eukaryotic vectors containing either normal p53 cDNA (pC53‐SN3) or mutated p53 (143Val→Ala) cDNA (pC53‐SCX3). Transfectants expressing WT p53 or those expressing mutant p53 are called K562 SN and K562 SM respectively. Many leukemic cell lines undergo apoptosis when de novo WT p53 is expressed alone. In contrast, while the resulting clones (K562 SN and K562 SM) expressed p53, they did not undergo apoptosis. However, when treated with MDM2 mRNA antisense (MDM2 AS) oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs), K562 SN demonstrated apoptotic features at both molecular and morphological levels. No change was observed when the other clones (K562 and K562 SM) were treated with MDM2 AS. Apoptosis induced in this manner was associated with a relatively small increase in intracellular calcium [Ca2+]i. Cells cultured in medium previously supplemented with recombinant human (rh) interleukin (IL)‐3 and rh‐erythropoietin (Epo) did not undergo apoptosis. Moreover, K562 SN cells were induced to differentiate. This differentiation was evaluated by measuring hemoglobin (Hb) level in cellular extracted proteins and by analyzing erythroid colony number and morphology. High Hb synthesis was obtained when K562 SN cells were cultured with cytokines (IL‐3 + Epo) combined with MDM2 AS. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the function of the proto‐oncogene MDM2 is to provide a ‘feedback’ mechanism for the p53‐dependent pathway of apoptosis that could be shunted toward differentiation.
Are C-tests valid measures for L2 vocabulary research?

Second language (L2) researchers (Singleton and Little, 1991) have sug gested that C-tests, developed as norm-referenced measures for proficiency and placement testing (Klein-Braley, 1985), can be used in L2 vocabulary research. This article illustrates how researchers can bring to bear essentials of measurement theory on L2 research by weighing validity justifications pertaining to use of the C-test method for vocabulary assessment in L2 research. Validity is defined using the predominant framework from current measurement theory (Messick, 1989) and its relevance for L2 research is explained. The cornerstone of the definition is construct validity, which requires a definition of the construct to be measured - interlanguage vocabulary (i.e., vocabulary ability). A theoretical definition of vocabulary ability is presented and used to consider justifications for and against interpreting C-test performance as indicative of vocabulary ability. On the basis of evidence concerning construct validity and utility as well as the consequences of interpretations, the potentials and limitations of the C-test method for L2 vocabulary research are identified.
Teacher as Researcher

Only 15 years ago, the label "teacher as researcher" was rarely used. In the nineties, it is all but a household word, at least among members of the National Reading Conference (NRC), the International Reading Association (IRA), and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). There are committees, grants, books, and many articles on the burgeoning area of teacher as researcher. In this article, we hope to uncover what the area of teacher as researcher now means, consider its value in the field of reading, and provide at least a glimpse of future directions. More than half a century ago, Buckingham (1926) noted the value of teacher research:
Talking about Picture Books: The Influence of Maternal Education on Four-Year-Old Children’s Talk with Mothers and Pre-School Teachers

This study analyses how pre-school children who differ in terms of maternal education respond to and interpret the images and written text in the same two picture books, one informational (The sleepy book[Zolotow and Bobri, 1960]) and one narrative (The baby who wouldn’t go to bed[Cooper, 1996]). Twelve children were recorded in their homes interacting with their mothers, and 12 children were recorded in their pre-schools interacting with a teacher. There were systematic differences in the manner in which the children who were interacting with their pre-school teachers responded to the texts compared with the children who were interacting with their mothers. The pre-school teachers provided the children of early school leaving mothers with opportunities to interact with text, which differed from those provided by their mothers. Such differences were not apparent to the same extent for the children of tertiary-educated mothers.
Comprehensive Transcriptome Analysis of the Periodontopathogenic Bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis W83

ABSTRACT High-density tiling microarray and RNA sequencing technologies were used to analyze the transcriptome of the periodontopathogenic bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis. The compiled P. gingivalis transcriptome profiles were based on total RNA samples isolated from three different laboratory culturing conditions, and the strand-specific transcription profiles generated covered the entire genome, including both protein coding and noncoding regions. The transcription profiles revealed various operon structures, 5′- and 3′-end untranslated regions (UTRs), differential expression patterns, and many novel, not-yet-annotated transcripts within intergenic and antisense regions. Further transcriptome analysis identified the majority of the genes as being expressed within operons and most 5′ and 3′ ends to be protruding UTRs, of which several 3′ UTRs were extended to overlap genes carried on the opposite/antisense strand. Extensive antisense RNAs were detected opposite most insertion sequence (IS) elements. Pairwise comparative analyses were also performed among transcriptome profiles of the three culture conditions, and differentially expressed genes and metabolic pathways were identified. With the growing realization that noncoding RNAs play important biological functions, the discovery of novel RNAs and the comprehensive transcriptome profiles compiled in this study may provide a foundation to further understand the gene regulation and virulence mechanisms in P. gingivalis. The transcriptome profiles can be viewed at and downloaded from the Microbial Transcriptome Database website, http://bioinformatics.forsyth. org/mtd.
Differences in Comprehension Processes as a Function of Hemisphericity

Significant differences were found between hemisphericity and cognitive strategies on a comprehensive task. The subjects were 62 undergraduates identified as having preferences of left-hemisphericity, integrated, or right-hemisphericity. The differences were between the reaction times of left- and right-hemisphericity preferences in processing sentences structured as True Negatives and False Negatives.