Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Context modulates hemispheric asymmetries in the resolution of lexical ambiguity

Previous studies have reported a hemispheric asymmetry in processing dominant (e.g., paper) and subordinate (e.g., farmer) associations of ambiguous words (e.g., pen). The majority of these studies, however, applied randomly ordered presentation and collected right-hand responses only. Generating responses solely with the right hand and the randomly ordered presentation of association type might have affected natural hemispheric expertise. We explored the putative relationships between responding hand and experimental design manipulations in processing lexical ambiguity. Ambiguous target words were laterally presented following word pairs that could be associated to the dominant or subordinate meaning of the target word. We manipulated the responding hand and the experimental context by presenting the semantic associations in a random (Experiment 1) and a blocked ordered presentation (Experiment 2). The results of Experiment 2 supported the right hemisphere expertise hypothesis, whereas the results of Experiment 1 can be best explained by the direct access model where stimuli are processed by the hemisphere receiving them first, without relying on hemispheric expertise. We conclude that without manipulating the responding hand, there is a risk of misinterpreting direct access results as evidence for hemispheric expertise. Moreover, we suggest that a blocked ordered presentation might encourage participants to use the expert hemisphere for the blocked factor. A new theoretical framework is presented to explain the findings.
A Comparison of the Handwriting without Tears Program and Peterson Directed Handwriting Program on Handwriting Performance in Typically Developing First Grade Students

The purpose of this study was to compare the results of two handwriting curricula on handwriting performance in typically developing first grade students. Each classroom implemented a different handwriting curriculum throughout the school year as part of the regular first grade curriculum. One classroom implemented the Handwriting Without Tears program, while the other used the Peterson Directed Handwriting curriculum. Handwriting skills were assessed at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. Student handwriting performance improved for both classrooms over the course of the school year. This suggests that for typically developing first grade students, implementation of a structured curriculum may be key to developing good handwriting skills.
A novel approach using increased taxon sampling reveals thousands of 1 hidden orthologs in flatworms 2

15 Gene gains and losses shape the gene complement of animal lineages and are a 16 fundamental aspect of genomic evolution. Acquiring a comprehensive view of the 17 evolution of gene repertoires is however limited by the intrinsic limitations of common 18 sequence similarity searches and available databases. Thus, a subset of the complement 19 of an organism consists of hidden orthologs, those with no apparent homology with 20 common sequenced animal lineages –mistakenly considered new genes– but actually 21 representing fast evolving orthologs of presumably lost proteins. Here, we describe 22 ‘Leapfrog’, an automated pipeline that uses increased taxon sampling to overcome long 23 evolutionary distances and identify hidden orthologs in large transcriptomic databases. 24 As a case study, we used 35 transcriptomes of 29 flatworm lineages to recover 3,597 25 hidden orthologs. Unexpectedly, we do not observe a correlation between the number of 26 hidden orthologs in a lineage and its ‘average’ evolutionary rate. Hidden orthologs do 27 not show unusual sequence composition biases (e.g. GC content, average length, 28 domain composition), but do appear to be more common in genes with binding or 29 catalytic activity. By using ‘Leapfrog’, we identify key centrosome-related genes and 30 homeodomain classes previously reported as absent in free-living flatworms, e.g. 31 planarians. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that hidden orthologs comprise a 32 significant proportion of the gene repertoire, qualifying the impact of gene losses and 33 gains in gene complement evolution.
Distribution of FGF-5 in the rhesus macaque retina.

PURPOSE To determine the distribution of mRNA transcribed from the FGF-5 gene and the distribution of FGF-5 protein in the normal adult retina of the rhesus macaque. METHODS Freshly enucleated globes from rhesus macaque were prepared for Northern blot analysis, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemical studies. A 350 base pair sequence from the human FGF-5 was subcloned and used to prepare 35S-labeled cRNAs for Northern and in situ experiments. Antipeptide antibodies were raised against an aminoterminal sequence as well as an internal sequence and were affinity purified on recombinant FGF-5 coupled to AffiGel-10. The specificity of antibody probes was verified by dot blot and Western blot analyses. RESULTS Ganglion cells and photoreceptors express the highest levels of FGF-5 mRNA, although all neurons and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) were clearly labeled. Immunohistochemical staining similarly revealed a widespread distribution of the protein, with prominent labeling observed in photoreceptor inner segments, especially in cone cells. Plexiform layers and RPE cells were also clearly labeled. CONCLUSIONS Clear evidence was established for the expression of FGF-5 in the retina, where it may play an important extracellular role as a secreted member of the FGF gene family.
Recent Progress on the Resilience of Complex Networks

Many complex systems in the real world can be modeled as complex networks, which has captured in recent years enormous attention from researchers of diverse fields ranging from natural sciences to engineering. The extinction of species in ecosystems and the blackouts of power girds in engineering exhibit the vulnerability of complex networks, investigated by empirical data and analyzed by theoretical models. For studying the resilience of complex networks, three main factors should be focused on: the network structure, the network dynamics and the failure mechanism. In this review, we will introduce recent progress on the resilience of complex networks based on these three aspects. For the network structure, increasing evidence shows that biological and ecological networks are coupled with each other and that diverse critical infrastructures interact with each other, triggering a new research hotspot of “networks of networks” (NON), where a network is formed by interdependent or interconnected networks. The resilience of complex networks is deeply influenced by its interdependence with other networks, which can be analyzed and predicted by percolation theory. This review paper shows that the analytic framework for Energies 2015, 8 12188 NON yields novel percolation laws for n interdependent networks and also shows that the percolation theory of a single network studied extensively in physics and mathematics in the last 60 years is a specific limited case of the more general case of n interacting networks. Due to spatial constraints inherent in critical infrastructures, including the power gird, we also review the progress on the study of spatially-embedded interdependent networks, exhibiting extreme vulnerabilities compared to their non-embedded counterparts, especially in the case of localized attack. For the network dynamics, we illustrate the percolation framework and methods using an example of a real transportation system, where the analysis based on network dynamics is significantly different from the structural static analysis. For the failure mechanism, we here review recent progress on the spontaneous recovery after network collapse. These findings can help us to understand, realize and hopefully mitigate the increasing risk in the resilience of complex networks.
The Non-Uniform k-Center Problem

In this article, we introduce and study the Non-Uniform k-Center (NUkC) problem. Given a finite metric space (X, d) and a collection of balls of radii { r1 ≥ … ≥ rk}, the NUkC problem is to find a placement of their centers in the metric space and find the minimum dilation α, such that the union of balls of radius α ⋅ ri around the ith center covers all the points in X. This problem naturally arises as a min-max vehicle routing problem with fleets of different speeds. The NUkC problem generalizes the classic k-center problem, wherein all the k radii are the same (which can be assumed to be 1 after scaling). It also generalizes the k-center with outliers (kCwO for short) problem, in which there are k balls of radius 1 and ℓ (number of outliers) balls of radius 0. Before this work, there was a 2-approximation and 3-approximation algorithm known for these problems, respectively; the former is best possible unless P=NP. We first observe that no O(1)-approximation to the optimal dilation is possible unless P=NP, implying that the NUkC problem is harder than the above two problems. Our main algorithmic result is an (O(1), O(1))-bi-criteria approximation result: We give an O(1)-approximation to the optimal dilation; however, we may open Θ(1) centers of each radii. Our techniques also allow us to prove a simple (uni-criterion), optimal 2-approximation to the kCwO problem improving upon the long-standing 3-factor approximation for this problem. Our main technical contribution is a connection between the NUkC problem and the so-called firefighter problems on trees that have been studied recently in the TCS community. We show NUkC is at least as hard as the firefighter problem. While we do nt know whether the converse is true, we are able to adapt ideas from recent works [1, 3] in non-trivial ways to obtain our constant factor bi-criteria approximation.
Speech Rhythms in Second Language Acquisition

How do second language learners whose mother tongue (L1) is rhythmically distinct with reference to the target language (L2) move from one system to the other? A descriptive model elaborated to account for the rhythmic organization of French and English (Wenk and Wioland, 1982) is applied to the speech of French learners of English to identify the particular type of cross-linguistic influence operating therein. The following hypothesis is tested: In moving from the "trailer-timed" rhythmic groups of French to the "leader-timed" rhythmic groups of English, learners pass through a transitional stage characterized by the production of rhythmic groups which, while displaying features of both the L1 and L2 systems, are unique to the learner's "interlanguage. " Evidence is presented for the existence of transitional rhythmic groups involving idiosyncratic distribution of articulatory energy as perceived in vowel reduction patterns of the interlanguage. The phenomenon varies according to speech task (increasing progressively from word-repetition to freer speech to imitative readings of complete sentences) and characteristically surfaces in intermediate-level speakers who wrongly identify words containing pre-tonic reduced syllables (e.g., "Japan") with rhythmic groups (or feet).
Being angry for different reasons: the role of personality in distributive justice

The present research examines personality predictors of anger in response to unfavorable and favorable outcomes with regard to violations of the distributive justice principle of equality. Two studies showed that feelings of anger in response to equality violations were related to neuroticism and agreeableness, albeit for different reasons. Depending on whether the equality violation was favorable or not, anger could be predicted by either feelings of threat or guilt for neuroticism and perceptions of responsibility for agreeableness. These findings add to the literature on boundary conditions of justice and reveal how core personality dimensions contribute to emotional reactions in distributively unjust situations, even if the outcome is personally favorable.
Generalized IRT Models for Extreme Response Style

Extreme response style (ERS) is a systematic tendency for a person to endorse extreme options (e.g., strongly disagree, strongly agree) on Likert-type or rating-scale items. In this study, we develop a new class of item response theory (IRT) models to account for ERS so that the target latent trait is free from the response style and the tendency of ERS is quantified. Parameters of these new models can be estimated with marginal maximum likelihood estimation methods or Bayesian methods. In this study, we use the freeware program WinBUGS, which implements Bayesian methods. In a series of simulations, we find that the parameters are recovered fairly well; ignoring ERS by fitting standard IRT models resulted in biased estimates, and fitting the new models to data without ERS did little harm. Two empirical examples are provided to illustrate the implications and applications of the new models.
Methodology for Monitoring Sustainable Development of Isolated Microgrids in Rural Communities

Microgrids are a rapidly evolving and increasingly common form of local power generation used to serve the needs of both rural and urban communities. In this paper, we present a methodology to evaluate the evolution of the sustainability of stand-alone microgrids projects. The proposed methodology considers a composite sustainability index (CSI) that includes both positive and negative impacts of the operation of the microgrid in a given community. The CSI is constructed along environmental, social, economic and technical dimensions of the microgrid. The sub-indexes of each dimension are aggregated into the CSI via a set of adaptive weighting factors, which indicate the relative importance of the corresponding dimension in the sustainability goals. The proposed methodology aims to be a support instrument for policy makers especially when defining sound corrective measures to guarantee the sustainability of small, isolated microgrid projects. To validate the performance of the proposed methodology, a microgrid installed in the northern part of Chile (Huatacondo) has been used as a benchmarking project.
Emerging roles of mechanical forces in chromatin regulation

ABSTRACT Cells are constantly subjected to a spectrum of mechanical cues, such as shear stress, compression, differential tissue rigidity and strain, to which they adapt by engaging mechanisms of mechanotransduction. While the central role of cell adhesion receptors in this process is established, it has only recently been appreciated that mechanical cues reach far beyond the plasma membrane and the cytoskeleton, and are directly transmitted to the nucleus. Furthermore, changes in the mechanical properties of the perinuclear cytoskeleton, nuclear lamina and chromatin are critical for cellular responses and adaptation to external mechanical cues. In that respect, dynamic changes in the nuclear lamina and the surrounding cytoskeleton modify mechanical properties of the nucleus, thereby protecting genetic material from damage. The importance of this mechanism is highlighted by debilitating genetic diseases, termed laminopathies, that result from impaired mechanoresistance of the nuclear lamina. What has been less evident, and represents one of the exciting emerging concepts, is that chromatin itself is an active rheological element of the nucleus, which undergoes dynamic changes upon application of force, thereby facilitating cellular adaption to differential force environments. This Review aims to highlight these emerging concepts by discussing the latest literature in this area and by proposing an integrative model of cytoskeletal and chromatin-mediated responses to mechanical stress. Summary: This Review discusses the mechanisms by which the nucleus, and chromatin in particular, respond to changes in the mechanical microenvironment of the cell, resulting in architectural and transcriptional alterations, and thereby facilitating cellular adaption.
Evaluate the influence of panel composition on facial attractiveness

Introduction: The study was conducted to evaluate the influence of professional background, age and gender, of panel members on their evaluation of the facial attractiveness of adolescents. Materials and Methods: A panel of 20 adult laymen 20 professionals (orthodontist and maxillofacial surgeons) evaluated photographic sets (one frontal and one lateral view) of 170 adolescents (76 boys and 94 girls) on a visual analogue scale (VAS) in relation to a reference set of photographs. The effects of the characteristics of the panel members on the VAS scores for boys and girls separately, as well as their interactions, were evaluated by multilevel models. Statistical Analysis: The influence of professional background, age and gender on the VAS scores for the boys and the girls separately and their possible interactions were tested within the framework of multilevel models. Student′s t-test for equality of means and Levene′s test for equality of variances were performed. Conclusion: The multilevel model and first-order interactions revealed that laymen rated adolescents as more attractive than professionals. Male laymen rated the boys and girls significant more attractive than male professionals. Young laymen rated boys and girls significantly more attractive than young professionals. Young laymen rated girls significantly more attractive than old laymen.
Assessing protein conformational sampling methods based on bivariate lag-distributions of backbone angles

Despite considerable progress in the past decades, protein structure prediction remains one of the major unsolved problems in computational biology. Angular-sampling-based methods have been extensively studied recently due to their ability to capture the continuous conformational space of protein structures. The literature has focused on using a variety of parametric models of the sequential dependencies between angle pairs along the protein chains. In this article, we present a thorough review of angular-sampling-based methods by assessing three main questions: What is the best distribution type to model the protein angles? What is a reasonable number of components in a mixture model that should be considered to accurately parameterize the joint distribution of the angles? and What is the order of the local sequence-structure dependency that should be considered by a prediction method? We assess the model fits for different methods using bivariate lag-distributions of the dihedral/planar angles. Moreover, the main information across the lags can be extracted using a technique called Lag singular value decomposition (LagSVD), which considers the joint distribution of the dihedral/planar angles over different lags using a nonparametric approach and monitors the behavior of the lag-distribution of the angles using singular value decomposition. As a result, we developed graphical tools and numerical measurements to compare and evaluate the performance of different model fits. Furthermore, we developed a web-tool (http://www.stat.tamu.edu/∼madoliat/LagSVD) that can be used to produce informative animations.
Events privacy in WSNs: A new model and its application

A novel issue resource constrained Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are affected by is context privacy. Indeed, while a few solutions do exist to provide data privacy to WSNs (i.e. to protect message confidentiality), providing context privacy (e.g. preventing an adversary to locate the source of a message) is still an open research problem. This paper attacks the issue providing several contributions. First, a formal model to reason about event privacy in WSNs is introduced. This model also captures dynamic events. Second, we introduce a new realistic class of mobile events a WSN can experience. These events become the target of our privacy preserving efforts. Third, we propose a privacy enforcing solution for the above class of events: the Unobservable Handoff Trajectory (UHT) Protocol. UHT is scalable and distributed. The analysis shows that it is both effective and efficient in terms of the induced overhead. It also minimizes the delay to notify the event sources location to the base station, while preserving the intended degree of privacy. Finally, extensive simulations confirm our findings.
Psychosocial Functioning and Sleep Patterns in Children and Adolescents with Cleft Lip and Palate (CLP) Compared with Healthy Controls

Objective: The aim of this study was twofold: to assess psychological functioning, interactional competencies, and sleep patterns in children and adolescents with cleft lip and palate (CLP), and to compare these results with those from age- and gender-matched controls. It was hypothesized that participants with CLP would exhibit greater difficulties in psychological functioning, more interactional difficulties, and poorer sleep patterns than those without CLP. Participants: Thirty-two children and adolescents with CLP and 34 controls were recruited. Ages ranged from 6 to 16 years. Main Outcome Measures: For psychosocial assessment, the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and a questionnaire on interactional competencies (PIELCQ) were completed; for sleep assessment, a sleep log was completed for seven consecutive nights. Results: Participants with and without CLP did not differ with respect to emotional problems, conduct problems, or hyperactivity. With respect to interactional competencies, participants with CLP were six times more likely to report difficulties. Unfavorable sleep patterns were associated with psychosocial strain but not with the presence of CLP. Conclusions: Results indicate that children and adolescents with CLP may report that they have sleep irregularities as often as those without CLP. In adolescence, the presence of CLP may be associated with increased difficulties. Consequently, skill training to improve context-related social competencies may be appropriate.
Reactions to gender egalitarian men: Perceived feminization due to stigma-by-association

Gender egalitarian men are vital for women’s progress, yet attitudes toward and beliefs about them are underinvestigated. In three experiments, women liked gender egalitarian men more so than men did, but both genders stigmatized them as more feminine, weak, and likely to be gay, compared with control male targets. This was true even when the gender egalitarian was an actual presidential candidate for the American Psychological Association (Experiment 3). We examined whether stigmatization was due to (a) gender egalitarians’ presumed affiliations with women and/or gay men (stigma-by-association); (b) the gay male feminist stereotype; or (c) a threat to men’s gender identity. Results supported stigma-by-association, but only for affiliations with women (not gay men). The gay male feminist stereotype was robust, but did not account for stigmatization, and men’s reactions to male gender egalitarians were independent of their gender identity. Implications of these findings for gender equality are discussed.
Word Alignment Based on Multi-Grain Model

Word alignment plays a critical role in statistical machine translation (SMT) and cross-language information retrieval. Until now, most existing methods get the word alignment within the whole range of the sentence length. The alignment quality is unsatisfactory. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to word alignment based on multi-grain model (WAMG). We split a parallel sentence pair into blocks in different grain and get the word alignments within each corresponding block. Our approach is able to restrict the search space of word alignment in the relatively accurate local range and reduce the mapping error. The experiments have shown that our approach outperforms the traditional word alignment algorithm relatively by about 12% in AER and improves the performance of Chinese-to-English translation system relatively by about 2.8% in BLEU.