Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Academic dishonesty among Hong Kong secondary school students: application of theory of planned behaviour

Abstract The theory of planned behaviour was used to examine academic dishonesty among secondary school students in Hong Kong. Participants were 386 students in Forms 1–3 (Grades 7–9). Attitudes toward cheating, perceived behavioural control, and moral obligation were positively related to the intention to cheat, but only the subjective norm against cheating was significantly related to self-reported cheating behaviour. The subjective norm was both a predictor of self-reported cheating and a moderator of the relationship between the intention to cheat and self-reported cheating: the intention predicted the behaviour only when the subjective norm against cheating was perceived to be weak.
Performance analysis of IEEE 802.11n solutions combining MIMO architectures with iterative decoding and sub-optimal ML detection via MMSE and zero forcing GIS solutions

The paper presets the performance of two newly proposed IEEE 802.11n candidate solutions by suggesting extensions to 802.11a. The new solutions incorporate a MIMO architecture for the wireless links between the network terminals. The FEC block in the PHY layer chain is also enhanced with a Turbo encoder to provide interleaving gains for the larger sized PSDUs (1-4095 bytes). Due to the ambitious data rate targets identified in 802.11n, where 'on-air' data rates of up to 320 Mbit/s are quoted, a large MIMO architecture comprising 6 transmit and 6 receive antenna elements is adopted. ML detection using such large configurations is often prohibitively complex due to an unrealistic enumerated symbol list. In this paper we propose zero-forcing and MMSE-GIS solutions to ease complexity at the receiver. PER results for these new schemes are presented and Link throughputs are compared to demonstrate the viability of the chosen solutions and their benefits over the existing 802.11a standard.
The Arabidopsis transcription factor ABIG1 relays ABA signaled growth inhibition and drought induced senescence

Drought inhibits plant growth and can also induce premature senescence. Here we identify a transcription factor, ABA INSENSITIVE GROWTH 1 (ABIG1) required for abscisic acid (ABA) mediated growth inhibition, but not for stomatal closure. ABIG1 mRNA levels are increased both in response to drought and in response to ABA treatment. When treated with ABA, abig1 mutants remain greener and produce more leaves than comparable wild-type plants. When challenged with drought, abig1 mutants have fewer yellow, senesced leaves than wild-type. Induction of ABIG1 transcription mimics ABA treatment and regulates a set of genes implicated in stress responses. We propose a model in which drought acts through ABA to increase ABIG1 transcription which in turn restricts new shoot growth and promotes leaf senescence. The results have implications for plant breeding: the existence of a mutant that is both ABA resistant and drought resistant points to new strategies for isolating drought resistant genetic varieties. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.13768. 001
A High Precision Method for Quantitative Measurements of Reactive Oxygen Species in Frozen Biopsies

Objective An electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) technique using the spin probe cyclic hydroxylamine 1-hydroxy-3-methoxycarbonyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine (CMH) was introduced as a versatile method for high precision quantification of reactive oxygen species, including the superoxide radical in frozen biological samples such as cell suspensions, blood or biopsies. Materials and Methods Loss of measurement precision and accuracy due to variations in sample size and shape were minimized by assembling the sample in a well-defined volume. Measurement was carried out at low temperature (150 K) using a nitrogen flow Dewar. The signal intensity was measured from the EPR 1st derivative amplitude, and related to a sample, 3-carboxy-proxyl (CP•) with known spin concentration. Results The absolute spin concentration could be quantified with a precision and accuracy better than ±10 µM (k = 1). The spin concentration of samples stored at −80°C could be reproduced after 6 months of storage well within the same error estimate. Conclusion The absolute spin concentration in wet biological samples such as biopsies, water solutions and cell cultures could be quantified with higher precision and accuracy than normally achievable using common techniques such as flat cells, tissue cells and various capillary tubes. In addition; biological samples could be collected and stored for future incubation with spin probe, and also further stored up to at least six months before EPR analysis, without loss of signal intensity. This opens for the possibility to store and transport incubated biological samples with known accuracy of the spin concentration over time.
Wordnet and SUMO for Sentiment Analysis

In this paper, we show how Princeton's WordNet and associated resources can be used as part of an integrated system for sentiment analysis, called SigmaSentiment. We discuss the development of a system for sentiment analysis and concept extraction. We first provide an introduction to the user experience to motivate our work. We begin technical discussion with some background on the Suggested Upper Merged Ontology and WordNet, as well as their relation and the associated research that makes this work possible. We describe system components and data flow in detail, and some detail about the deployment architecture in the fielded system.
Visual Attention

Visual attention is the factor controlling the selective access and integration of visual information. INTRODUCTION Although much of vision appears to be effortless and all-encompassing, nevertheless there are limits to what it can do. For example, consider air traffic control, where it is imperative to keep track of all moving items in a display (corresponding to the airplanes in an airspace). If only a single item is present, it can generally be tracked without problem. It is also possible to track four or five items simultaneously, although some effort is needed to do so. However, for 20 or 30 items, even a maximal effort will not suffice, and the task must be shared among several controllers. What appears to be happening in such cases is that visual perception is constrained by a consciously controlled factor within the observer ± a factor that enables certain types of processing to take place, but which is limited in the extent to which it can be applied. This factor is termed visual attention. Interestingly, although most observers immediately know what to do when asked tòpay atten-tion' to a stimulus, it has been rather difficult to give this an objective characterization. Indeed, until recently there was no general consensus on the basic function of attention, and at various times it was associated with such things as clarity of perception , intensity of perception, consciousness, and selection. SELECTION During the past few decades, considerable progress has been achieved by focusing on selection as the basic function of visual attention. Two types of selection are of particular importance. The first is selective access (i.e., allowing only certain parts or properties to be sent on to later processes). It was originally believed that selective access protected processors at higher levels from being overwhelmed by too much information. However, more recent research has tended to view selective access as a way to delimit control of various actions (e.g., focusing on the locations of items that are to be grasped). The second type of selection is selective integration (i.e., combining selected parts or properties into structures that then form the basis of further processing). For example, three adjoining lines could be combined into a complete figure. This figure (and not the lines themselves) might then provide the basis for subsequent control of grasping. It was initially believed that such integration had to be selective in order to make good use …
Enhancement of optical coherence microscopy in turbid media by an optical parametric amplifier

We report the enhancement in imaging performance of a spectral‐domain optical coherence microscope (OCM) in turbid media by incorporating an optical parametric amplifier (OPA). The OPA provides a high level of optical gain to the sample arm, thereby improving the signal‐to‐noise ratio of the OCM by a factor of up to 15 dB. A unique nonlinear confocal gate is automatically formed in the OPA, which enables selective amplification of singly scattered (ballistic) photons against the multiply‐scattered light background. Simultaneous enhancement in both imaging depth and spatial resolution in imaging microstructures in highly light‐scattering media are demonstrated with the combined OPA‐OCM setup. Typical OCM inteferograms (left) and images (right) without and with OPA.
Possible role of macrophage-derived soluble mediators in the pathogenesis of encephalomyocarditis virus-induced diabetes in mice

Pancreatic islets from DBA/2 mice infected with the D variant of encephalomyocarditis (EMC-D) virus revealed lymphocytic infiltration with moderate to severe destruction of pancreatic beta cells. Our previous studies showed that the major population of infiltrating cells at the early stages of infection is macrophages. The inactivation of macrophages prior to viral infection resulted in the prevention of diabetes, whereas activation of macrophages prior to viral infection resulted in the enhancement of beta-cell destruction. This investigation was initiated to determine whether macrophage-produced soluble mediators play a role in the destruction of pancreatic beta cells in mice infected with a low dose of EMC-D virus. When we examined the expression of the soluble mediators interleukin-1 beta (IL-1beta), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the pancreatic islets, we found that these mediators were clearly expressed at an early stage of insulitis and that this expression was evident until the development of diabetes. We confirmed the expression of these mediators by in situ hybridization with digoxigenin-labelled RNA probes or immunohistochemistry in the pancreatic islets. Mice treated with antibody against IL-1beta or TNF-alpha or with the iNOS inhibitor aminoguanidine exhibited a significant decrease in the incidence of diabetes. Mice treated with a combination of anti-IL-1beta antibody, anti-TNF-alpha antibody, and aminoguanidine exhibited a greater decrease in the incidence of disease than did mice treated with one of the antibodies or aminoguanidine. On the basis of these observations, we conclude that macrophage-produced soluble mediators play an important role in the destruction of pancreatic beta cells, resulting in the development of diabetes in mice infected with a low dose of EMC-D virus.
Agent Server Architecture for the Ajanta Mobile-Agent System

This paper provides an overview of Ajanta, a Java-based mobile-agent system, and focuses in particular on the architecture of the agent server { the process which hosts agents and enables them to access resources, communicate, migrate etc. The agent server's main components include an agent execution environment, an agent transfer protocol, a resource access protocol, and an agent monitoring service. Security is a major concern in the design of each of these services. The paper describes how a security architecture is integrated into the agent server design, and informally argues about its cor-rectness based upon Java's security model.
Wiener reconstruction of density, velocity and potential fields from all-sky galaxy redshift surveys

We present a new method for recovering the cosmological density, velocity, and potential fields from all-sky redshift catalogues. The method is based on an expansion of the fields in orthogonal radial (Bessel) and angular (spherical harmonic) functions. In this coordinate system, peculiar velocities introduce a coupling of the radial harmonics describing the density field in redshift space but leave the angular modes unaffected. In the harmonic transform space, this radial coupling is described by a distortion matrix which can be computed analytically within the context of linear theory; the redshift space harmonics can then be converted to their real space values by inversion of this matrix. Statistical noise is mitigated by regularizing the matrix inversion with a Wiener filter. The method yields a minimum variance estimate of the density field in real space. In this coordinate system, the minimum variance harmonics of the peculiar velocity and potential fields are related to those of the density field by simple linear transformations. Tests of the method with simulations of a CDM universe and comparison with previously proposed methods demonstrate it to be a very promising new reconstruction method for the local density and velocity field. A first application to the 1.2 Jy IRAS redshift survey is presented.
A dual decomposition algorithm for separable nonconvex optimization using the penalty function framework

We propose a dual decomposition method for solving separable nonconvex optimization problems that arise e.g. in distributed model predictive control over networks. We first derive a new sequential convex programming (SCP) scheme based on penalty function approach to handle nonconvexity. Then, we combine this SCP scheme with a dual decomposition algorithm to obtain a two-level decomposition algorithm. The global convergence of this algorithm is analyzed under standard assumptions. Some preliminary numerical results are also given to illustrate the theoretical results.
Scan alignment with probabilistic distance metric

Scan alignment estimates the relative robot position from corresponding sets of data by identifying the transformation that minimizes a distance metric on these sets. Here, we present a method (SLIP) establishing correspondences between points based on a novel probabilistic distance metric to allow robust detection of outliers. This metric takes into account sensor noise and robot position uncertainty. Outliers are detected as elements with none but low probability links among all correspondences. To achieve scan alignment an inverse model is applied on the links, estimating robot position and reducing position uncertainty. Results of SLIP preserving all links and a computationally more efficient variant retaining only the most probable link are compared to standard ICP for tests with scan data and artificially inserted outliers. Additionally SLIP was used to built maps of an office environment from scan series. It was found to correct position errors and reject outliers from artificial data and real scans successfully.
Caenorhabditis elegans F09E10.3 Encodes a Putative 3-Oxoacyl-Thioester Reductase of Mitochondrial Type 2 Fatty Acid Synthase FASII that is Functional in Yeast

Caenorhabditis elegans F09E10.3 (dhs-25) was identified as encoding a 3-oxoacyl-thioester reductase, potentially of the mitochondrial type 2 fatty acid synthase (FASII) system. Mitochondrial FASII is a relatively recent discovery in metazoans, and the relevance of this process to animal physiology has not been elucidated. A good animal model to study the role of FASII is the nematode C. elegans. However, the components of nematode mitochondrial FASII have hitherto evaded positive identification. The nematode F09E10.3 protein was ectopically expressed without an additional mitochondrial targeting sequence in Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant cells lacking the homologous mitochondrial FASII enzyme 3-oxoacyl-ACP reductase Oar1p. These yeast oar1Δ mutants are unable to respire, grow on nonfermentable carbon sources, or synthesize sufficient levels of lipoic acid. Mutant yeast cells producing a full-length mitochondrial F09E10.3 protein contained NAD+-dependent 3-oxoacyl-thioester reductase activity and resembled the corresponding mutant overexpressing native Oar1p for the above-mentioned phenotype characteristics. This is the first identification of a metazoan 3-oxoacyl-thioester reductase (see Note Added in Proof).
THE EFFECTS OF CURRICULUM BASED YOGA ON CHILDREN WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT/ HYERACTIVITY DISORDER

Yoga is a means of using specified techniques to increase attention, concentration, flexibility, and stress. There is a body of research that supports the use of complimentary treatments, treatment in addition to any medications, for children with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but there is a lack of research demonstrating the effects of a yoga intervention in the classroom for children with ADHD. This study involves nine, sixth grade students with ADHD, for which a ten week yoga intervention was used prior to language arts and mathematics instruction, and prior to an examination. Participants were evaluated using the Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Teacher Rating Scale on the following subscales: hyperactivity, inattention, ODD/CD, anxiety/depression, reading, writing, math, and behavioral performance. The data appear to reveal mixed results for each participant. The overall summed subgroups showed significant changes in each category of the Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Teacher Rating Scale except for peer to peer relationships.
Variable ecological conditions promote male helping by changing banded mongoose group composition

Lay Summary Male banded mongooses babysit more when rainfall is variable. Banded mongooses live in cooperative family groups and males in particular help raise pups that are not necessarily their own. It has been suggested that ecological conditions affect cooperation, and our study confirms that the variability of conditions is important: Females face higher mortality during years with more variable rainfall, and males may be better off helping their relatives when there are fewer opportunities for mating. Twitter: @HarryHMarshall
Same Routines, Different Effects: Gender, Leisure, and Young Offending

The current study seeks to extend routine activity theory by examining how gender conditions the relationship between leisure activities and adolescent delinquency. Using OLS regression with a sample of high school students from Toronto (n = 2,209), we find that (1) engaging in more unstructured and unsupervised activities with peers is associated with delinquency more strongly for boys than for girls, but is associated with substance use equally across gender; (2) this pattern is likely due to gender differences in the locations or contexts of leisure activities; and (3) prosocial leisure activities are associated with less delinquency only for boys. In general, routine activity theory appears apt at explaining the substance use of boys and girls, but is less capable of explaining the property and violent offending of girls. We discuss our findings and their implications for the growing body of research extending routine activity theory to explain gender differences in delinquency.
Energy-balanced models for acoustic and audio systems: a port-Hamiltonian approach

Port-Hamiltonian systems (PHS) are an extension of Hamiltonian systems, which represent open passive systems which are structured according to their conservative and dissipa- tive parts, as well as the external sources. They are widely used in engineering as a central tool for the modelling of physical systems, their passive-guaranteed simulation, as well as for control issues. In this paper, we shall recall the definition of the port-Hamiltonian systems and give some indication on how they might be used for the modelling and simulation of electro-acoustic systems, which are illustrated on some applications.
High-frequency Eeg Co-varies with Spike Burst Patterns 1 Detected in Cortical Neurons 2 3

24 Invasive micro-electrode recordings measure neuronal spikes, which are commonly 25 considered inaccessible through standard surface EEG. Yet, high-frequency EEG 26 potentials (hf-EEG, f > 400 Hz) found in somatosensory-evoked potentials of primates 27 may reflect the mean population spike responses of co-activated cortical neurons. Since 28 cortical responses to electrical nerve stimulation vary strongly from trial to trial, we 29 investigated whether the hf-EEG signal can also echo single-trial variability observed at 30 the single-unit level. We recorded extracellular single-unit activity in the primary 31 somatosensory cortex of behaving macaque monkeys and identified variable spike burst 32 responses following peripheral stimulation. Each of these responses was classified 33 according to the timing of its spike constituents, conforming to one of a discrete set of 34 spike patterns. We here show that these spike patterns are accompanied by variations in 35 the concomitant epidural hf-EEG. These variations cannot be explained by fluctuating 36 stimulus efficacy, suggesting that they were generated within the thalamocortical 37 network. As high-frequency EEG signals can also be reliably recorded from the scalp of 38 human subjects, they may provide a non-invasive window on fluctuating cortical spike 39 activity in man. 40 41 3 Introduction 42
The issue of compliance in personal informatics : a case study of sleep

The increased sophistication of embedded capture and access technology and the growth of communities such as the Quantified Self that advocate for the proliferation of these tools has brought personal informatics to the masses. However, personal informatics tools and methods are still far from ubiquitous. In this paper I discuss ways to incentivize use and improve compliance of personal informatics tools. As a case study, I describe a tool that I am in the process of developing. This tool measures sleep using the accelerometer found in many smart phones, by placing the phone on a bed sheet during sleep. The tool also tracks habits related to sleep, such as mood, and provides daily feedback, with progress logging and correlation analysis tools. The implication of this tool for public health and psychotherapy are discussed. Author