Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perception is key? Does perceptual sensitivity and parenting behavior predict childrenâ€TMs reactivity to othersâ€TM emotions?

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Floating Concrete by using Light Weight Aggregates and Air Entraining Agent

This Project deals with the development of Floating type of concrete by using lightweight aggregate (Pumice stone) and Aluminium powder as an air entraining agent. There are many types of lightweight concrete which can be produced either by using lightweight aggregate or by using an air entraining agent. In this study we have worked on combination of above mentioned types. This concrete is a non-structural concrete. In this study, comparison has be made between plain cement concrete and lightweight concrete having different proportion of Aggregate size and fix quantity of Aluminum content (i.e. 2%) by the weight of cement has been taken into account. It helps to increase volume of concrete and hence reduce the weight.
Cross-validation in high-dimensional spaces: a lifeline for least-squares models and multi-class LDA

Least-squares models such as linear regression and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) are amongst the most popular statistical learning techniques. However, since their computation time increases cubically with the number of features, they are inefficient in high-dimensional neuroimaging datasets. Fortunately, for k-fold cross-validation, an analytical approach has been developed that yields the exact cross-validated predictions in least-squares models without explicitly training the model. Its computation time grows with the number of test samples. Here, this approach is systematically investigated in the context of cross-validation and permutation testing. LDA is used exemplarily but results hold for all other least-squares methods. Furthermore, a non-trivial extension to multi-class LDA is formally derived. The analytical approach is evaluated using complexity calculations, simulations, and permutation testing of an EEG/MEG dataset. Depending on the ratio between features and samples, the analytical approach is up to 10,000x faster than the standard approach (retraining the model on each training set). This allows for a fast cross-validation of least-squares models and multi-class LDA in high-dimensional data, with obvious applications in multi-dimensional datasets, Representational Similarity Analysis, and permutation testing.
Accelerating Empowerment Computation with UCT Tree Search

Models of intrinsic motivation present an important means to produce sensible behaviour in the absence of extrinsic rewards. Applications in video games are varied, and range from intrinsically motivated general game-playing agents to non-player characters such as companions and enemies. The information-theoretic quantity of Empowerment is a particularly promising candidate motivation to produce believable, generic and robust behaviour. However, while it can be used in the absence of external reward functions that would need to be crafted and learned, empowerment is computationally expensive. In this paper, we propose a modified UCT tree search method to mitigate empowerment’s computational complexity in discrete and deterministic scenarios. We demonstrate how to modify a Monte-Carlo Search Tree with UCT to realise empowerment maximisation, and discuss three additional modifications that facilitate better sampling. We evaluate the approach both quantitatively, by analysing how close our approach gets to the baseline of exhaustive empowerment computation with varying amounts of computational resources, and qualitatively, by analysing the resulting behaviour in a Minecraft-like scenario.
Complex Life Cycles in a Variable Environment: Predicting When the Timing of Metamorphosis Shifts from Resource Dependent to Developmentally Fixed

To test models of the timing of and size at metamorphosis, researchers manipulate food at several times during the larval phase of an animal's complex life cycle. Data from diverse taxa show that the age at metamorphosis becomes resource independent (i.e., fixed) at some point during the larval phase. Although existing models have been modified to incorporate a fixed rate of development, none predicts when phenotypic plasticity in metamorphic timing is lost. A graphical model is presented that extends knowledge of a genotype's optimal age and size at metamorphosis in different environments in which resources remain constant throughout the larval phase (i.e., the genotype's reaction norm) to predict when development rate becomes fixed in response to resource variability during the larval phase. Model predictions concur with data from food‐switching experiments on anuran tadpoles and barnacle nauplii. As interest in the timing of and size at metamorphosis expands from well‐studied taxa (e.g., amphibians) to the many others that have complex life cycles, the predictive model provides a useful tool to design and improve experiments.
Dual-transducer ultrasound for elastography

Medical imaging techniques provide valuable information about the internal anatomy of the body. Commonly used techniques can render many properties of the anatomy and its function, but they are limited in their ability to measure tissue mechanical properties such as elasticity. Over the past two decades there has been growing interest in developing methods of noninvasively characterizing mechanical properties of tissues; a field commonly referred to as elastography. Tissues are known to exhibit changes in mechanical properties in response to pathology. As a result, elastography has the particular potential to help physicians diagnose and locate cancerous tumors and other malignancies. The principle of operation of elastography systems is to apply an excitation to the tissue, such as a compression, and to measure the resulting tissue motion as it deforms. The tissue elasticity can then be inferred from the motion estimates by solving the inverse problem. Tissue motion is typically measured with ultrasound because it is fast, safe, and relatively inexpensive. The point spread function of an ultrasound beam is anisotropic, resulting in poorer quality motion estimates in two of the three spatial directions. This thesis investigates a new method of estimating tissue motion by employing two ultrasound transducers with different view angles. The goal of using these two transducers is to create a plane of high quality 2D motion estimates. Simulations and experimental results on tissue mimicking phantoms show that the method outperforms other commonly used 2D motion estimation methods. For example, in a tissue deformation simulation, the dual transducer method produced lower root mean square measurement error by a factor of 10 compared to a single transducer technique, and a factor of 3 compared to a single transducer with angular compounding. A simple wire-based method of aligning the transducers into a coincident scan plane is initially developed. Later, a novel wedge-based phantom is designed for aligning the two transducers. Calibration results demonstrate improved alignment with the wedge phantom. Manual alignment is found to be repeatable with mean alignment errors under 1 degree in rotation and 1 mm in translation for all degrees of freedom after six independent trials.
The Effect of Bias on an Automatically-built Word Sense Corpus

The goal of this paper is to explore the large-scale automatic acquisition of sense-tagged examples to be used for Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD). We have applied the “monosemous relatives” method on the Web in order to build such a resource for all nouns in WordNet. The analysis of some parameters revealed that the distribution of the word senses (bias) in the training and test corpus is a determinant factor. Provided there is a method to approximate the bias for each word sense, the results we obtained for English are comparable to the use of hand-tagged data (Semcor), which is a very interesting perspective for lesser studied languages.
Improving Landmark Localization with Semi-Supervised Learning

We present two techniques to improve landmark localization in images from partially annotated datasets. Our primary goal is to leverage the common situation where precise landmark locations are only provided for a small data subset, but where class labels for classification or regression tasks related to the landmarks are more abundantly available. First, we propose the framework of sequential multitasking and explore it here through an architecture for landmark localization where training with class labels acts as an auxiliary signal to guide the landmark localization on unlabeled data. A key aspect of our approach is that errors can be backpropagated through a complete landmark localization model. Second, we propose and explore an unsupervised learning technique for landmark localization based on having a model predict equivariant landmarks with respect to transformations applied to the image. We show that these techniques, improve landmark prediction considerably and can learn effective detectors even when only a small fraction of the dataset has landmark labels. We present results on two toy datasets and four real datasets, with hands and faces, and report new state-of-the-art on two datasets in the wild, e.g. with only 5% of labeled images we outperform previous state-of-the-art trained on the AFLW dataset.
Incorporating prior information into differential network analysis using non‐paranormal graphical models

Motivation: Understanding how gene regulatory networks change under different cellular states is important for revealing insights into network dynamics. Gaussian graphical models, which assume that the data follow a joint normal distribution, have been used recently to infer differential networks. However, the distributions of the omics data are non‐normal in general. Furthermore, although much biological knowledge (or prior information) has been accumulated, most existing methods ignore the valuable prior information. Therefore, new statistical methods are needed to relax the normality assumption and make full use of prior information. Results: We propose a new differential network analysis method to address the above challenges. Instead of using Gaussian graphical models, we employ a non‐paranormal graphical model that can relax the normality assumption. We develop a principled model to take into account the following prior information: (i) a differential edge less likely exists between two genes that do not participate together in the same pathway; (ii) changes in the networks are driven by certain regulator genes that are perturbed across different cellular states and (iii) the differential networks estimated from multi‐view gene expression data likely share common structures. Simulation studies demonstrate that our method outperforms other graphical model‐based algorithms. We apply our method to identify the differential networks between platinum‐sensitive and platinum‐resistant ovarian tumors, and the differential networks between the proneural and mesenchymal subtypes of glioblastoma. Hub nodes in the estimated differential networks rediscover known cancer‐related regulator genes and contain interesting predictions. Availability and Implementation: The source code is at https://github.com/Zhangxf‐ccnu/pDNA Contact: szuouyl@gmail.com Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Perpetuation of sexual objectification: The role of resource depletion

Women are sexually objectified when viewed and treated by others as mere objects. Abundant research has examined the negative consequences of being the target of sexual objectification; however, limited attention has focused on the person doing the objectification. Our focus is on the agent and how self-regulatory resources influence sexual objectification. Consistent with prior evidence, we reasoned that people have a well-learned automatic response to objectify sexualized women, and as such, we expected objectifying a sexualized (vs. personalized) woman would deplete fewer regulatory resources than not objectifying her. Findings across three studies confirmed our expectations, demonstrating the extent to which people objectify a sexualized woman or not is influenced by the availability of regulatory resources, a case that heretofore has been absent from the literature. These patterns are discussed in the context of the sexual objectification and self-regulation literature.
Quality Predictors of Abdominal Fetal Electrocardiography Recording in Antenatal Ambulatory and Bedside Settings

Background: Fetal electrocardiography using an abdominal monitor (Monica AN24™) could increase the diagnostic use of fetal heart rate (fHR) variability measurements. However, signal quality may depend on factors such as maternal physical activity, posture, and bedside versus ambulatory setting. Methods: Sixty-three healthy women wore the monitor at home and 42 women during a hospital stay. All women underwent a posture experiment, and all home and 13 hospital participants wore the monitor during daytime and nighttime. The success rate (SR) of fHR detection was analyzed in relation to maternal physical activity, posture, daytime versus nighttime, and other maternal and fetal predictors. Results: Ambulatorily, the SR was 86.8% for nighttime and 40.2% for daytime. The low daytime SR was largely due to effects of maternal physical activity and posture. The in-hospital SR was lower during nighttime (71.1%) and similar during daytime (43.3%). SR was related to gestational age, but not affected by pre-pregnancy and current body mass index or fetal growth restriction. Conclusions: The success of beat-to-beat fHR detection strongly depends on the home/hospital setting and predictors such as time of recording, activity levels, and maternal posture. Its clinical utility may be limited in periods of unsupervised recording with physical activity or posture shifts.
Syntactic Features for High Precision Word Sense Disambiguation

This paper explores the contribution of a broad range of syntactic features to WSD: grammatical relations coded as the presence of adjuncts/arguments in isolation or as subcategorization frames, and instantiated grammatical relations between words. We have tested the performance of syntactic features using two different ML algorithms (Decision Lists and AdaBoost) on the Senseval-2 data. Adding syntactic features to a basic set of traditional features improves performance, especially for AdaBoost. In addition, several methods to build arbitrarily high accuracy WSD systems are also tried, showing that syntactic features allow for a precision of 86% and a coverage of 26% or 95% precision and 8% coverage.
Case management for frail older adults through tablet computers and Skype

ABSTRACT Background: Frail older adults are high consumers of medical care due to their age and multiple chronic conditions. Regular contact with a case manager has been proven to increase well-being of frail older adults and reduce their number of health-care visits. Skype calls through tablet PCs can offer easier communication. Objective: This paper examines frail older adults’ use of tablet computers and Skype, with their case managers.Method: Interviews were conducted on 15 frail older adults. A content analysis was used to structure and analyze the data. Results: The results indicate that tablet computers were experienced in a positive way for most frail older adults. Conflicting feelings did emerge, however, as to whether the frail elderly would adopt this in the long run. Skype needs to be tested further as to whether this is a good solution for communication with their case managers. Strong technical support and well-functioning technology are important elements to facilitate use. Conclusion: Using Skype and tablet PCs do have potential for frail older adults, but need to be tested further.
The Impact of DSM‐5 on Eating Disorder Diagnoses

OBJECTIVE Eating disorder diagnostic criteria were revised from the fourth to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV and -5, respectively). This study examines the impact of these revisions on rates of eating disorder diagnoses in treatment-seeking youth. METHOD Participants were 651 youth, ages 7-18 years, presenting to an outpatient eating disorders program who met criteria for a DSM-IV eating disorder diagnosis on intake. Patients completed well-validated semi-structured interviews to assess eating disorder psychopathology and psychiatric comorbidity. RESULTS Participants were predominantly female (n = 588; 90.3%) with an average age of 15.28 years (SD = 2.21), mean percent of median Body Mass Index (mBMI) of 101.91 (SD = 31.73), and average duration of illness of 16.74 months (SD = 17.63). Cases of DSM-IV Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS), now most consistent with DSM-5 Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder, decreased from 47.6% to 39.0%, Anorexia Nervosa increased from 29.6% to 33.5%, and Bulimia Nervosa increased from 22.7% to 24.7%. DISCUSSION Consistent with previous studies, and in keeping with the aims of the DSM-5 for eating disorders, the revised diagnostic criteria reduced cases of DSM-IV EDNOS and increased cases of specified eating disorders. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.(Int J Eat Disord 2017; 50:578-581).
Judicial Decision-Making and Juvenile Offenders: Effects of Medical Evidence and Victim Age

ABSTRACT A growing body of evidence suggests that jurors place greater weight on DNA or other types of forensic evidence than non-forensic evidence (Cole & Dioso-Villa, 2009). For cases involving child sexual abuse, certain types of evidence, including forensic medical evidence, may be viewed as more important or indicative of abuse than other types of evidence, such as victim statements or disclosure. The present study evaluated perceptions of juvenile offenders and victim credibility across four vignettes that systematically manipulated variables related to victim age and physical indicators of abuse. A sample of 636 participants read vignettes and answered questions pertaining to the vignette. Participants also provided demographic information and responded to a series of items assessing participants’ judicial decision-making strategies and outcomes. Broadly, the presence of medical evidence significantly influenced participants’ decision-making across a variety of variables, including verdict outcome, verdict confidence, confidence that the victim was truthful, and determinations involving sex offender registration and notification requirements. The influence of medical evidence and victim age on perceptions and sentencing of juvenile sex offenders across these and additional outcome variables will be discussed.
Shear bond behaviors at interface of concrete-filled steel tube

In order to study mechanical behaviors of the shear bond of concrete filled steel tube (CFST),analyze shear stress distribution and establish the relationship between shear stress and bond-slip of the shear bond,tests on 15 specimens of concrete filled circular steel tube (CFCST) and 5 specimens of concrete filled rectangular steel tube (CFRST) were carried out. The test results show that strain distribution of the steel tube was triangle along the longitudal direction and the bond shear stress distributes homogeneously. All specimens had similar bond-slip curves and the shear bond strength of CFCST was greater than that of CFRST. Based on the test results,the relationship between shear stress and bond-slip of the shear bond,was established. The shear bond strength of CFST was not considerably affected by the concrete strength,but it increased with the concrete ages and the length to diameter ratio and decreases with diameter to thickness ratio (or width to thickness ratio) of the steel tube.
Significant transcriptome and cytokine changes in hepatitis B vaccine non-responders revealed by genome-wide comparative analysis

ABSTRACT Individuals fail to elicit protective antibody after hepatitis B vaccination remain at risk for hepatitis B virus infection. Analysis of the transcriptome of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) is essential to elucidate the characteristics of gene expression in non-responders. In this study, we enrolled seven responders who had received three injections and seven non-responders who had six injections of hepatitis B vaccine before. All the participants were then vaccinated with a three-dose boost regimen. Microarray analysis and Luminex assay were applied to examine mRNA expression and Th1/Th2/Th9/Th17/Th22/Treg cytokine and chemokine profiles in non-responders and responders. Differentially expressed genes in PBMCs of non-responders at 5 time points, i.e. pre-vaccination, 3rd, 7th, 28th day post the first dose vaccination and 7th day post the second dose vaccination indicated a dense network trend. Compared with responders, nine coding genes (BPI, DEFA1B, DEFA4, CEACAM8, MMP8, FOLR3, LTF, TCN1 and TKTL1) were significantly up-regulated in non-responders at all 5 time points, which could probably be the characteristic genes in hepatitis B vaccine non-responsiveness. Gene ontology analysis revealed that most of the DEGs were related with immune responses. Validation results of these 9 genes using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were mostly consistent with the results of microarray. Cytokine analysis demonstrated that IL-27 and CXCL12 concentrations in responders were significantly higher than non-responders on the 3rd day after the first dose and 7th day after the second dose of vaccination, respectively. No significant difference was observed in other cytokine and chemokine signatures between the two groups. In conclusion, our results revealed characteristic transcriptome and cytokine changes in hepatitis B vaccine non-responders after boost immunization.
Stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes in sediments and biota from three tropical marine food webs: Application to chemical bioaccumulation assessment

Studies of trophodynamics and contaminant bioaccumulation in tropical marine ecosystems are limited. The present study employed stable isotope and trace contaminant analysis to assess sources of primary productivity, trophic interactions, and chemical bioaccumulation behavior in 2 mangrove food webs and 1 offshore coastal marine food web in Singapore. Samples of sediment, phytoplankton, mangrove leaves, clams, snails, crabs, worms, prawns, and fishes were analyzed for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values, as well as concentrations of persistent organic pollutants. In the mangrove food webs, consumers exhibited similar δ13C values, probably because of the well‐mixed nature of these systems. However, the 2 primary consumers (common nerite and rodong snail) exhibited distinct δ13C values (–21.6‰ vs –17.7‰), indicating different carbon sources. Fish from Singapore Strait exhibited similar δ13C values, indicating common carbon sources in this offshore marine food web. The highest trophic level was found in glass perchlet (trophic level = 3.3) and tilapia (trophic level = 3.4) in the 2 mangrove food webs and grunter (trophic level = 3.7) in the Singapore Strait food web. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB 153) and p,p′‐dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′‐DDE) concentrations ranged from 0.9 to 84.6 ng/g lipid weight and from <0.2 to 267.4 ng/g lipid weight, respectively. The trophic magnification factors of PCB 153 and p,p′‐DDE ranged between 1.63 and 4.62, indicating biomagnification in these tropical marine food webs. The findings provide important information that will aid future chemical bioaccumulation assessment initiatives. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:2521–2532. © 2017 SETAC