Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Figurative Language, Mental Imagery, and Pragmatics

ABSTRACT Many people report experiencing mental imagery (visual, auditory, and/or kinetic) when they comprehend verbal metaphors. The question whether imagery is merely an incidental side-effect of processes of metaphor understanding or plays a key role in comprehension remains unresolved, with diametrically opposed views expressed among psychologists, philosophers, and literary theorists. I survey a wide array of evidence (behavioral and neurocognitive) concerning the activation and use of imagery in language processing generally and metaphor processing in particular. I conclude that mental imagery is not an essential component in the comprehension of language, whether literal or metaphorical, but it is often automatically activated in the minds of hearers or readers as a by-product of their linguistic and pragmatic processes. Writers may exploit this fact and enhance the impact of imagery by producing extended and/or creative metaphors, so that, although not essential, imagistic effects can be as significant as propositional cognitive effects.
Neural PID Control of Robot Manipulators With Application to an Upper Limb Exoskeleton

In order to minimize steady-state error with respect to uncertainties in robot control, proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control needs a big integral gain, or a neural compensator is added to the classical proportional-derivative (PD) control with a large derivative gain. Both of them deteriorate transient performances of the robot control. In this paper, we extend the popular neural PD control into neural PID control. This novel control is a natural combination of industrial linear PID control and neural compensation. The main contributions of this paper are semiglobal asymptotic stability of the neural PID control and local asymptotic stability of the neural PID control with a velocity observer which are proved with standard weight training algorithms. These conditions give explicit selection methods for the gains of the linear PID control. An experimental study on an upper limb exoskeleton with this neural PID control is addressed.
Learning constancies for object perception

Regularities in the external world cause special, nonaccidental properties of the sensory signals (Barlow, 1959, 1972). They constrain the patterns of natural stimulation to a very small part of the space of all possible stimuli. This is indicated by the fact that in a set of images generated by assigning pixels at random, it is very unlikely that we will ever find one resembling a natural image. The structure of the external world is not often reflected in a simple way in the structure of the direct sensory measurements. The goal of the sensory system must be to transform the raw signals into a form in which the structure of the external environment corresponds well to the structure of the internal representation. Our perceptual system achieves this goal. To illustrate this, Figure 5.la. shows four random dot patterns, two of which are identical. It is much harder, if not impossible, for us to say which two are the same without focusing on small details than to say which of the four images in Figure 5.lb are the same. Our ability to discriminate and generalize is based on our perceptual representations, which are matched to the pattern of natural stimulation.
Long-Term Duloxetine Treatment Normalizes Altered Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Expression in Serotonin Transporter Knockout Rats through the Modulation of Specific Neurotrophin Isoforms

Dysfunction of the serotonergic system is implicated in the etiology of many psychiatric disorders, including major depression. Major vulnerability genes for mood disorders are also related to the serotonergic system: one of these genes encodes for the serotonin transporter (SERT), which represent a major target for the action of antidepressant drugs. We have demonstrated recently that SERT knockout (KO) rats, generated by N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mutagenesis, show reduced expression of the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, suggesting that depression vulnerability can be associated with impaired neuronal plasticity. In the present study, we demonstrate that chronic treatment with the antidepressant duloxetine (DLX) was able to normalize the expression of BDNF mRNA-coding exon (IX) in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of SERT KO rats through the modulation of selected neurotrophin transcripts, whose expression was up-regulated by DLX only in SERT KO rats. On the other hand, the modulation of BDNF protein by DLX in frontal cortex was abolished in mutant rats. These data suggest that animals with a genetic defect of the serotonin transporter maintain the ability to show neuroplastic changes in response to antidepressant drugs. Because these animals show depression-like behavior, the region and isoform-specific increase of BDNF levels may be a mechanism activated by long-term antidepressant treatment to restore normal plasticity that is defective under genetic dysfunction of the serotonin transporter.
A Critical Perspective on Current Structures Governing Internet Plagiarism: Challenges to Public Relations and Journalism Education

The Internet has raised student plagiarism to a new level. Never before has access to information been as easy, and never before have students had such a capacity to search, order, borrow, copy, cut and paste. This paper offers a critical perspective on current practices that deal with student plagiarism, while placing the issue into the context of current Internet culture. As cyber-plagiarism emerges as a major challenge to universities worldwide, with one US survey indicating up to 70 per cent of students commit academic offences such as plagiarism (University of Alberta, 2001), how is it being tackled? How might it effect the way we teach communications studies and what particular challenges are faced by educators in journalism and public relations? This paper addresses these issues and, finally, considers the need for a new framework to deal with these changing trends in academic culture.
Wireless, Web-Based Interactive Control of Optical Coherence Tomography with Mobile Devices

Purpose Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is widely used in ophthalmology clinics and has potential for more general medical settings and remote diagnostics. In anticipation of remote applications, we developed wireless interactive control of an OCT system using mobile devices. Methods A web-based user interface (WebUI) was developed to interact with a handheld OCT system. The WebUI consisted of key OCT displays and controls ported to a webpage using HTML and JavaScript. Client–server relationships were created between the WebUI and the OCT system computer. The WebUI was accessed on a cellular phone mounted to the handheld OCT probe to wirelessly control the OCT system. Twenty subjects were imaged using the WebUI to assess the system. System latency was measured using different connection types (wireless 802.11n only, wireless to remote virtual private network [VPN], and cellular). Results Using a cellular phone, the WebUI was successfully used to capture posterior eye OCT images in all subjects. Simultaneous interactivity by a remote user on a laptop was also demonstrated. On average, use of the WebUI added only 58, 95, and 170 ms to the system latency using wireless only, wireless to VPN, and cellular connections, respectively. Qualitatively, operator usage was not affected. Conclusions Using a WebUI, we demonstrated wireless and remote control of an OCT system with mobile devices. Translational Relevance The web and open source software tools used in this project make it possible for any mobile device to potentially control an OCT system through a WebUI. This platform can be a basis for remote, teleophthalmology applications using OCT.
Formalizing a Structured Natural Language Requirements Specification Notation

Requirements specification notations are developed by organizations in order to meet their specific needs. For example, the Threads-Capabilities notation, an in house notation at Raytheon Systems Canada, Ltd., has been developed and used for specifying their complex, large scale, air traffic control systems. It is a semi-formal, structured, natural language notation. In this work, we investigate how to make this semi-formal notation more rigorous (i.e., formal) by developing and applying a new formalization process to it. By doing this, we can obtain the advantages of formal methods (precise, unambiguous, automatic generation of test specifications, automated typechecking, etc.) while retaining the style and readability of the original notation. We call the formalized notation the Stimulus Response Requirements Specification (SRRS) notation. Our results have been successful for the specific notation. The formalized notation has been demonstrated to reduce the time and improve the quality of the requirements specifications. There is additional training time, however, needed to learn to use the notation and tools.
Manufacturing intelligence for early warning of key equipment excursion for advanced equipment control in semiconductor manufacturing

As feature sizes of integrated circuits are continuously shrinking in nanotechnologies, mining potentially useful information to extract manufacturing intelligence from big data automatically collected in the wafer fabrication facilities to assist in real time decisions for yield enhancement has become practically crucial to maintain competitive advantages and support intelligent manufacturing for operational excellence. Motivated by real needs, this study aims to develop an effective approach to extract manufacturing intelligence for early detection of key equipment excursion for advanced equipment control to enhance yield and reduce potential loss. For validation, an empirical study was conducted in a leading semiconductor manufacturing company to validate the proposed approach in the developed “early warning system” of newly released equipment to reduce tool excursion and abnormal yield loss. The results have demonstrated practical viability of the proposed approach. Indeed, the developed solution has been implemented in this company.
The Moderation Effect of Motivation on the Relationship between Internet Search and Critical Thinking

The advancement of Internet bought potential to engage learners in practicing using critical thinking skills by searching the information to solve any given academic problems. This study investigated a model incorporating the interaction between Internet search strategies and motivation, in influencing critical thinking skill. A web survey was conducted to gather data from 307 subjects from United States. The results supported the research hypothesis that motivation influences the strength of the predictive relationship between Internet Search and critical thinking. The post-hoc analysis suggested that the prediction of Internet search on critical thinking for the low motivation group was stronger than for the high and medium motivation groups. Implications for theories are recommended.
Sequential implication of the mental retardation proteins ARHGEF6 and PAK3 in spine morphogenesis

The biological mechanisms underlying the mental retardation associated with mutation of the ARHGEF6 gene, a Rac1/Cdc42 exchange factor, are still unknown, although defects in the plasticity of synaptic networks have been postulated. We have cloned the rat ARHGEF6 gene and investigated, using a transfection approach, its involvement in spine morphogenesis and its relationship to p21-activated kinase 3 (PAK3). We found that expression of tagged ARHGEF6 in hippocampal slice cultures shows a punctate staining in dendritic spines that colocalizes with PSD95. Over-expression of ARHGEF6, of PAK3 or constitutively active PAK3 did not alter spine morphology. By contrast, knockdown of ARHGEF6 using a siRNA approach resulted in abnormalities in spine morphology similar to those reported with knockdown of PAK3. This phenotype could be rescued through co-expression of a constitutively active PAK3 protein, but not with wild-type PAK3. Together, these results indicate that ARHGEF6 is localized in dendritic spines where it contributes to regulate spine morphogenesis probably by acting through a downstream activation of PAK3. Similar mechanisms are thus likely to underlie the mental retardation induced by mutations of ARHGEF6 and PAK3.
A Modular Safety Assurance Method considering Multi-Aspect Contracts during Cyber Physical System Design

Designing safety-critical cyber physical systems (CPS) was and remains a challenging task. CPS engineers are supposed to design solutions that are easy to modify, reusable, satisfy certification authorities, meet safety goals, separate between concerns, etc. With these partly contradicting demands it sometimes is even impossible to find a viable CPS design. The idea using contract-based design methods has been around for over two decades and enables automating the (re-)validation of the specification of CPS against the surrounding system or operational environment. In this work we extend the notion of contracts by component and interface contracts and give ideas on how to integrate them in a modular safety assurance approach. The explicit separation between these two types of contracts also better reflects the separation of concerns and reduces the overall modeling effort. We evaluate our approach with an automotive E-Drive case study.
Ergogenic Effects of Pop Music on Endurance Performance in Hot Conditions among Physically Active Individuals

: Music has been reported by numerous researchers to elicit psychological, psychophysical, and ergogenic effects. Some researchers found that music could improve endurance performance, others reported progressive impairment in endurance performance with increasing ambient temperature. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of pop music on endurance performance in hot conditions (35°C) among physically active individuals. Twenty-eight physically active subjects (14 males, 14 females, age=19.57±1.7 yrs, height= 164.8±8.3 cm, weight= 58.6±8.8 kg, VO2max = 42.5±7.7 ml.kg -1 .min -1 ) were recruited to participate in this randomized cross-over study: with music (WM) and no music (NM) trials. For each trial, subjects cycled at 60 rpm for the first 20 minutes followed by maximal cycling effort in the last 20 minutes to determine the distance achieved. The workload of 40 minutes exercise were maintained at 55% Pmax. Heart rate (HR), oxygen uptake (VO2) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded throughout the experimental trials. Experimental trials were separated by at least 5 days apart. Results revealed that there was no significant interaction between music and cycled distance [F(1, 26) = 1.372, p=0.252, ηp2=0.050]. Results also revealed that similar physiological responses (HR and VO2) and RPE were found in both WM and NM trials. In conclusion, there is no sufficient evidence to support that pop music could enhance endurance performance in the heat among physically active individuals.
UDP-GLUCURONOSYLTRANSFERASE 2B7 IS THE MAJOR ENZYME RESPONSIBLE FOR GEMCABENE GLUCURONIDATION IN HUMAN LIVER MICROSOMES

The predominant metabolic pathway of gemcabene in humans is glucuronidation. The principal human UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) involved in the glucuronidation of gemcabene were determined in this study. Glucuronidation of gemcabene was catalyzed by recombinant UGT1A3, recombinant UGT2B7, and recombinant UGT2B17, as well as by human liver microsomes (HLM). Gemcabene glucuronidation in recombinant UGTs and HLM followed non-Michaelis-Menten kinetics consistent with homotropic activation, but pharmacokinetics in humans were linear over the dose range tested (total plasma Cmax, 0.06–0.88 mM). Gemcabene showed similar affinity (S50) for recombinant UGTs (0.92–1.45 mM) and HLM (1.37 mM). S-Flurbiprofen was identified as a more selective inhibitor of recombinant UGT2B7-catalyzed gemcabene glucuronidation (>23-fold lower IC50) when compared with recombinant UGT1A3- or recombinant UGT2B17-catalyzed gemcabene glucuronidation. The IC50 for S-flurbiprofen inhibition of gemcabene glucuronidation was similar in HLM (60.6 μM) compared with recombinant UGT2B7 (27.4 μM), consistent with a major role for UGT2B7 in gemcabene glucuronidation in HLM. In addition, 5,6,7,3′,4′,5′-hexamethoxyflavone inhibited recombinant UGT1A3 and recombinant UGT2B17-catalyzed gemcabene glucuronidation (with 4-fold greater potency for recombinant UGT1A3) but did not inhibit gemcabene glucuronidation in HLM, suggesting that UGT1A3 and UGT2B17 do not contribute significantly to gemcabene glucuronidation. Reaction rates for gemcabene glucuronidation from a human liver bank correlated well (r2 = 0.722, P < 0.0001; n = 24) with rates of glucuronidation of the UGT2B7 probe substrate 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine. In conclusion, using the three independent experimental approaches typically used for cytochrome P450 reaction phenotyping, UGT2B7 is the major enzyme contributing to gemcabene glucuronidation in human liver microsomes.
Output-based sliding mode control design for linear plants with multiplicative disturbances: The minimax approach

In this paper we consider a problem of sliding mode control design for LTI systems with multiplicative disturbances of the input and noisy measurements of the output. First, we apply the minimax observer to provide the best possible estimate of the system's state. Then we solve a problem of optimal reaching for the observer: we design sub-optimal control algorithms generating continuous and discontinuous feedback controls that steer the observer as close as possible to a given sliding hyperplane in a finite time. The theoretical results are illustrated by an academic example.
The self-directed learning readiness survey as a predictor of success in a problem-based learning environment

CONTEXT Charles Sturt University (CSU) launched a new engineering degree in 2016, with a strong focus on self-directed and self-motivated learning. Admission to the programme was based on ATAR, a secondary application form, and a candidate interview. Staff reflections at the conclusion of the first year showed that these three metrics alone did not sufficiently identify candidates able to complete topics, i.e. engineering content learning and assessment modules, at a sufficient pace to progress on to the latter stages of the course. In an effort to improve the recruitment and candidate evaluation process the staff decided to trial a survey measuring student perceptions of their readiness to partake in a self-directed learning environment.
Convolutional Tables Ensemble: classification in microseconds

We study classifiers operating under severe classification time constraints, corresponding to 1-1000 CPU microseconds, using Convolutional Tables Ensemble (CTE), an inherently fast architecture for object category recognition. The architecture is based on convolutionally-applied sparse feature extraction, using trees or ferns, and a linear voting layer. Several structure and optimization variants are considered, including novel decision functions, tree learning algorithm, and distillation from CNN to CTE architecture. Accuracy improvements of 24-45% over related art of similar speed are demonstrated on standard object recognition benchmarks. Using Pareto speed-accuracy curves, we show that CTE can provide better accuracy than Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for a certain range of classification time constraints, or alternatively provide similar error rates with 5-200X speedup.
Functional Cliques in Developmentally Correlated Neural Networks

We consider a sparse random network of excitatory leaky integrate-andfire neurons with short-term synaptic depression. Furthermore to mimic the dynamics of a brain circuit in its first stages of development we introduce for each neuron correlations among in-degree and out-degree as well as among excitability and the corresponding total degree, We analyze the influence of single neuron stimulation and deletion on the collective dynamics of the network. We show the existence of a small group of neurons capable of controlling and even silencing the bursting activity of the network. These neurons form a functional clique since only their activation in a precise order and within specific time windows is capable to ignite population bursts.
Electrophysiological activation by masked primes: Independence of prime-related and target-related activities

Visual stimuli that are made invisible by metacontrast masking (primes) have a marked influence on behavioral and psychophysiological measures such as reaction time (RT) and the lateralized readiness potential (LRP). 4 experiments are reported that shed light on the effects that masked primes have on the LRP. Participants had a go-nogo task in which the prime was associated with 1 of 2 responses even if the target required participants to refrain from responding. To analyze the electrophysiological responses, we computed the LRP and applied an averaging method separating the activation due to the prime and the target. The results demonstrated that (a) masked primes activate responses even in a nogo situation, (b) this prime-related activation is independent of masking, (c) and is also independent of whether prime and target require the same responses (congruent condition) or different responses (incongruent condition).
The Management Ability for Head Nurses Assessed by Using Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance

Objectives: To assess the head nurses using Kendall’s coefficient of Concordance. Methods: An approach to assess the management ability of nurse heads was to collect data evaluated by nursing supervisors on 5-point ten management core axes in hospital. We analyze (1) the relation of Cronbach’s  and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance; (2) performance presentations on Google maps with visual displays; (3) the association between summation scores and the age of nurse heads. Results: We found that (1) the relation between Cronbach’s  and Kendall’s coefficient is significantly strong(r=0.61, t=5.87) in concordance(Kendall =0.85, 2  =100.38,df=59, p< .0001); (2) the dashboard shown on the Google map with multidisciplinary functionalities is merit; (3)the association between summation scores and the age is trivial (r=0.18, t=1.5) without concordance(Kendall =0.59( 2  =76.33, df=65, p=0.16). Conclusion: The demonstration of performance sheet is shown on Google maps with a dashboard. The Kendall’s coefficient of concordance can be used for an example in assessing the selection of the nurse head in the hospital as well as in evaluating many kinds of competition judged by referees in the future.
An exploratory study of organizational learning from a performance measurement system: a grounded theory approach

Organizational learning from a performance measurement system is typically a complex and dynamic process, but research in this area tends to be more normative or functionalist in orientation, rather than interpretive embedded in the everyday activities of practice and the particular social world examined. To overcome this, a substantive grounded theory about how organizational members learn from performance measures in their everyday working life is developed. Using qualitative data, the study documents how organizational learning from a performance measurement system within a single strategic business unit of an Australian public sector utility entity occurred, thereby, providing a contextualized understanding of organizational learning that is grounded in the everyday world of the particular social world examined. The research findings are complete enough to capture the factors that influenced organizational learning and sufficiently parsimonious to follow and grasp.