Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Self-efficacy in pathological gambling treatment outcome: development of a gambling abstinence self-efficacy scale (GASS)

A 21-item measure of gambling abstinence self-efficacy (GASS) was developed. A principal component analysis of 101 pathological gamblers supported the use of a total score that showed good internal (α=.93) and retest reliability (ICC (n=35)=. 86) as well as four subscales: 1) winning/external situations (6 items, α=.91); 2) negative emotions (9 items, α=.87); 3) positive mood/testing/urges (3 items, α=.70); 4) social factors (3 items, α=.81). The total and subscales showed moderate relationships with single item ratings of confidence to abstain from gambling and weak or non-significance relationships with demographic and gambling-related variables. The total score and three of the subscales showed evidence of predictive validity for gamblers not currently involved with treatment. Higher self-efficacy was related to fewer days of gambling over a 12-month period. These results provide preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the GASS.
A Constraint Based System to Populate Procedurally Modeled Cities with Buildings

Creating large-scale virtual environments for interactive applications such as computer games poses a demanding challenge for computer graphics. We present a system that procedurally creates urban environments including street networks, street geometry and building parcels. Our main contribution is a constraint based system that chooses the ”best ﬁtting” building for every parcel from a set of existing buildings. Building properties such as the footprint, area, and faces that should have street access are used to select the most suitable building. Furthermore we introduce a robust technique to create 3D street geometry for streets that adapt to different terrain heights and describe a method to create a more realistic city shape and more detailed outer regions.
Relationship of water potential to growth of leaves.

A thermocouple psychrometer that measures water potentials of intact leaves was used to study the water potentials at which leaves grow. Water potentials and water uptake during recovery from water deficits were measured simultaneously with leaves of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), papaya (Carica papaya L.), and Abutilon striatum Dickson. Recovery occurred in 2 phases. The first was associated with elimination of water deficits; the second with cell enlargement. The second phase was characterized by a steady rate of water uptake and a relatively constant leaf water potential. Enlargement was 70% irreversible and could be inhibited by puromycin and actinomycin D. During this time, leaves growing with their petioles in contact with pure water remained at a water potential of -1.5 to -2.5 bars regardless of the length of the experiment. It was not possible to obtain growing leaf tissue with a water potential of zero. It was concluded that leaves are not in equilibrium with the potential of the water which is absorbed during growth. The nonequilibrium is brought about by a resistance to water flow which requires a potential difference of 1.5 to 2.5 bars in order to supply water at the rate necessary for maximum growth.Leaf growth occurred in sunflower only when leaf water potentials were above -3.5 bars. Sunflower leaves therefore require a minimum turgor for enlargement, in this instance equivalent to a turgor of about 6.5 bars. The high water potentials required for growth favored rapid leaf growth at night and reduced growth during the day.
Detection of intention of pedaling start cycle through EEG signals

Recovery from cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is a growing research topic. Exoskeletons are being used for this purpose in combination with a volitional control algorithm. This work studied the intention of pedaling initiation movement, based on previous work, with different types of electrode configuration and different processing time windows. The main characteristic is to find alterations in the mu and beta frequency bands where ERD/ERS is produced. The results show that for the majority of the subjects this event is well detected with 8 or 9 electrodes and using time before and after the movement onset.
The taxonomy and diversity of Platerodrilus (Coleoptera, Lycidae) inferred from molecular data and morphology of adults and larvae

Abstract The Oriental neotenic net-winged beetles attracted attention of biologists due to conspicuous large-bodied females; nevertheless phylogenetic relationships remain contentious and only a few species are known in both the fully metamorphosed males and neotenic females. The phylogenetic analyses and morphology of larvae and adults provide data for investigation of relationships and species delineation. Platrilus Kazantsev, 2009, Platerodriloplesius Wittmer, 1944, and Falsocalochromus Pic, 1942 are synonymized to Platerodrilus Pic, 1921. Platrilus hirtus (Wittmer, 1938) and Pl. crassicornis (Pic, 1923) are transferred to Platerodrilus Pic, 1921. Platerodrilus hoiseni Wong, 1996 is proposed as a junior subjective synonym of Falsocalochromus ruficollis Pic, 1942. Platerodrilus is divided in three species-groups: P. paradoxus, P. major, and P. sinuatus groups defined based on the shape of genitalia and molecular phylogeny. The following species are described: Platerodrilus foliaceus sp. n. , P. wongi sp. n. (P. paradoxus group); P. ngi sp. n. , P. wittmeri (P. major group), P. ijenensis sp. n. , P. luteus sp. n. , P. maninjauensis sp. n. , P. montanus sp. n. , P. palawanensis sp. n. , P. ranauensis sp. n. , P. sibayakensis sp. n. , P. sinabungensis sp. n. , P. talamauensis sp. n. , and P. tujuhensis sp. n. (P. sinuatus group). P. korinchiana robinsoni Blair, 1928 is elevated to the species rank as P. robinsoni Blair, 1928, stat. n. The conspecific semaphoronts are identified using molecular phylogeny for P. foliaceus sp. n. , P. tujuhensis sp. n. , P. montanus sp. n. , P. maninjauensis sp. n. ; additional female larvae are assigned to the species-groups. Diagnostic characters are illustrated and keys are provided for P. paradoxus and P. major groups.
Validating Automated Essay Scoring: A (Modest) Refinement of the “Gold Standard”

By far, the most frequently used method of validating (the interpretation and use of) automated essay scores has been to compare them with scores awarded by human raters. Although this practice is questionable, human-machine agreement is still often regarded as the “gold standard. ” Our objective was to refine this model and apply it to data from a major testing program and one system of automated essay scoring. The refinement capitalizes on the fact that essay raters differ in numerous ways (e.g., training and experience), any of which may affect the quality of ratings. We found that automated scores exhibited different correlations with scores awarded by experienced raters (a more compelling criterion) than with those awarded by untrained raters (a less compelling criterion). The results suggest potential for a refined machine-human agreement model that differentiates raters with respect to experience, expertise, and possibly even more salient characteristics.
FastShrinkage: Perceptually-aware Retargeting Toward Mobile Platforms

Retargeting aims at adapting an original high-resolution photo/video to a low-resolution screen with an arbitrary aspect ratio. Conventional approaches are generally based on desktop PCs, since the computation might be intolerable for mobile platforms (especially when retargeting videos). Besides, only low-level visual features are exploited typically, whereas human visual perception is not well encoded. In this paper, we propose a novel retargeting framework which fast shrinks photo/video by leveraging human gaze behavior. Specifically, we first derive a geometry-preserved graph ranking algorithm, which efficiently selects a few salient object patches to mimic human gaze shifting path (GSP) when viewing each scenery. Afterward, an aggregation-based CNN is developed to hierarchically learn the deep representation for each GSP. Based on this, a probabilistic model is developed to learn the priors of the training photos which are marked as aesthetically-pleasing by professional photographers. We utilize the learned priors to efficiently shrink the corresponding GSP of a retargeted photo/video to be maximally similar to those from the training photos. Extensive experiments have demonstrated that: 1) our method consumes less than 35ms to retarget a 1024 × 768 photo (or a 1280 × 720 video frame) on popular iOS/Android devices, which is orders of magnitude faster than the conventional retargeting algorithms; 2) the retargeted photos/videos produced by our method outperform its competitors significantly based on the paired-comparison-based user study; and 3) the learned GSPs are highly indicative of human visual attention according to the human eye tracking experiments.
Phase-modulated temperature scanning interferometry for measurements of electrooptic coefficients: application to KTiOPO/sub 4/

This work describes an efficient and simple method to determine the effective electrooptic coefficients of crystals, along with the continuous recording of their temperature dependence. A sample with plane and parallel optical end faces acts as a Fabry-Pe/spl acute/rot resonator, which is submitted to a linear ramp of temperature. The thermooptic effect generates a shift of interference fringes that are phase-modulated by applying an appropriate electric field. Residual absorption of the material is considered to achieve the best accuracy. The case of KTiOPO/sub 4/ is given as an example to illustrate the method; first results on the thermal behavior of its effective coefficients r/sub i3/ are presented.
Beyond the Zeitgeist of “Post‐neoliberal” Theory in Latin America: The Politics of Anti‐colonial Struggles in Bolivia

On 19 October 2011 I joined approximately 3000 marchers on the descent into La Paz, the final destination of the historic 66-day march in defence of the Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS). Tens of thousands of Bolivian citizens lined the streets along the route chanting in solidarity with the marchers and demanding the cancellation of the government’s planned highway set to cut through the ancestral lands of the lowland indigenous people of the Yuracarés, Mojeños and Tsimanes. Such an outpouring against the once popular President, Morales, reflected the anger of the Bolivian people that he had contradicted his international discourse surrounding climate justice, anti-neoliberalism and indigenous rights. Two days later the President announced the cancellation of the road. Being reported as a victory for the environment by the international press, it has also been a significant milestone in the presidency of Morales, rupturing the bond between the first “indigenous leader” of Bolivia and sectors of the indigenous stronghold that bought him to power.
Interleukin-1 Blockade in Recently Decompensated Systolic Heart Failure: Results From REDHART (Recently Decompensated Heart Failure Anakinra Response Trial)

Background An enhanced inflammatory response predicts worse outcomes in heart failure (HF). We hypothesized that administration of IL-1 (interleukin-1) receptor antagonist (anakinra) could inhibit the inflammatory response and improve peak aerobic exercise capacity in patients with recently decompensated systolic HF. Methods and Results We randomly assigned 60 patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (<50%) and elevated C-reactive protein levels (>2 mg/L), within 14 days of hospital discharge, to daily subcutaneous injections with anakinra 100 mg for 2 weeks, 12 weeks, or placebo. Patients underwent measurement of peak oxygen consumption (VO2 [mL/kg per minute]) and ventilatory efficiency (the VE/VCO2 slope). Treatment with anakinra did not affect peak VO2 or VE/VCO2 slope at 2 weeks. At 12 weeks, patients continued on anakinra showed an improvement in peak VO2 from 14.5 (10.5–16.6) mL/kg per minute to 16.1 (13.2–18.6) mL/kg per minute (P=0.009 for within-group changes), whereas no significant changes occurred within the anakinra 2-week or placebo groups. The between-groups differences, however, were not statistically significant. The incidence of death or rehospitalization for HF at 24 weeks was 6%, 31%, and 30%, in the anakinra 12-week, anakinra 2-week, and placebo groups, respectively (log-rank test P=0.10). Conclusions No change in peak VO2 occurred at 2 weeks in patients with recently decompensated systolic HF treated with anakinra, whereas an improvement was seen in those patients in whom anakinra was continued for 12 weeks. Additional larger studies are needed to validate the effects of prolonged anakinra on peak VO2 and rehospitalization for HF. Clinical Trial Registration URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT01936909.
Proteomic analysis of the proliferative and secretory phases of the human endometrium: Protein identification and differential protein expression

Proteomic analyses of the proliferative and secretory phases of the human endometrium were carried out to identify proteins and discover differentially expressed proteins using isotope‐coded affinity tags, three stages of chromatographic separation and online tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). From an initial list of 346 proteins identified by ProICAT, manual inspection of MS/MS spectra and confirmatory searches pared the list down to 119 positively identified proteins. Only five of the proteins showed consistent differential expression. The utility of some of these proteins as indicators of true differential expression in the endometrium is open to discussion. The two proteins with unquestionable differential expressions in the secretory endometrium are: glutamate NMDA receptor subunit zeta 1 precursor and FRAT1. Some of the proteins that show no differential expression have previously been examined in gene‐expression studies with similar conclusions.
Predicting and visualizing psychological attributions with a deep neural network

Judgments about personality based on facial appearance are strong effectors in social decision making, and are known to have impact on areas from presidential elections to jury decisions. Recent work has shown that it is possible to predict perception of memorability, trustworthiness, intelligence and other attributes in human face images. The most successful of these approaches require face images expertly annotated with key facial landmarks. We demonstrate a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model that is able to perform the same task without the need for landmark features, thereby greatly increasing efficiency. The model has high accuracy, surpassing human-level performance in some cases. Furthermore, we use a deconvolutional approach to visualize important features for perception of 22 attributes and demonstrate a new method for separately visualizing positive and negative features.
Segmentation and motivations of the attendees’ of the Mediaschool Festival in Łódź, Poland

Abstract The article presents the case study of the Mediaschool Film Festival held in Łódź, a large Polish post-industrial and post-socialist city. The authors’ main goals were to establish the number of the festival visitors, as well as investigate their structure, main motivations to attend the festival, and the level of satisfaction with the festival services. As a result, the authors draw conclusions concerning the role of the festival as a place of the film culture consumption, as well as its role in the development of social capital. The basic method of study was the survey, conducted among the festival visitors in 2011. It contained questions concerning the structure of the festival audience, the evaluation of the event, and the main motivations to attend it. The method was adapted from the event studies, which was a tactical move in order to place the research on the borderline between cultural geography and event studies. Other methods typical of cultural geography and used in the present study included participant observation and semi-structured interview with the festival organisers. The event is one of the urban festivals created after the fall of communism. It is visited mainly by young people, often connected with the Łódź film school. First of all, the festival satisfies the need for contact with culture and film art, thus contributing to the creation of social capital and the development of the film school in Łódź (a part of the cluster of film institutions in the city). The event is a meeting point for film people from Łódź, Poland and abroad. Thus it could be also described as an obligatory point of passage in film-related network of connections.
Tissue-Specific Expression of Head-to-Tail Cyclized Miniproteins in Violaceae and Structure Determination of the Root Cyclotide Viola hederacea root cyclotide

The plant cyclotides are a family of 28 to 37 amino acid miniproteins characterized by their head-to-tail cyclized peptide backbone and six absolutely conserved Cys residues arranged in a cystine knot motif: two disulfide bonds and the connecting backbone segments form a loop that is penetrated by the third disulfide bond. This knotted disulfide arrangement, together with the cyclic peptide backbone, renders the cyclotides extremely stable against enzymatic digest as well as thermal degradation, making them interesting targets for both pharmaceutical and agrochemical applications. We have examined the expression patterns of these fascinating peptides in various Viola species (Violaceae). All tissue types examined contained complex mixtures of cyclotides, with individual profiles differing significantly. We provide evidence for at least 57 novel cyclotides present in a single Viola species (Viola hederacea). Furthermore, we have isolated one cyclotide expressed only in underground parts of V. hederacea and characterized its primary and three-dimensional structure. We propose that cyclotides constitute a new family of plant defense peptides, which might constitute an even larger and, in their biological function, more diverse family than the well-known plant defensins.
The Legitimacy of Public Service Broadcasting in the 21st Century: The Case of Scandinavia

Abstract The present paper examines the debate on the future of public service broadcasting (PSB) in Norway and Sweden in the 2000s. I have analysed the discourses on PSB that dominate the public debate in the two countries, the cultural policy related to PSB, as well as the legitimizing rhetoric of the Norwegian public service broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) and that of the Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT). Theoretically, the analysis draws on normative theories on the role of PSB in promoting democracy, culture and a well-functioning public sphere, as well as theories on democracy and the public sphere per se.
Optimal allocation and binding in high-level synthesis

The authors present an integer linear program (ILP) formulation for the allocation and binding problem in high-level synthesis. Given a behavioral specification and a time-step schedule of operations, the formulation minimizes wiring and multiplexer areas. An ILP model for minimizing multiplexer and wiring areas has been mathematically formulated and optimally solved. The model handles chaining, multi-cycle operations, pipelined modules, conditional branches and trades off wiring area with resource area. <<ETX>>
A metabolic approach to dormancy in pelagic copepods helps explaining inter- and intra-specific variability in life-history strategies

Dormancy (diapause) is a key life-history strategy of pelagic copepods that allows them to thrive in highly seasonal environments. Successful dormancy of copepodid stages requires the ability to store energy efficiently (for example as lipids) and to slow down the rate of mobilization of this capital during the dormant period. The physiology of lipids in copepods has been extensively reviewed; however, data about the energetics of dormancy are currently scattered throughout the literature. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis comparing the metabolism of active and dormant copepods in 15 species that undergo dormancy as copepodids. Linear mixed-effects models showed that the metabolic rate of dormant copepods is about one-fourth of the values for actively growing copepods, a level that remains consistent across a large range of body size or environmental conditions. Based on these metabolic rates, we used a numerical modelling approach to predict dormancy duration as a function of body mass and ambient temperature, and to explain the observed range of body masses at the initiation of dormancy. Our numerical approach also provides explanations for interand intra-specific variability in life-history strategies, such as
Traditional Teaching vs. Individualized Modular Instruction

Daniel Morgan is Head of the Department of Special Education, Utah State University, Logan, Utah . Education research studies have generally revealed that students differ from one another in terms of interest, personality traits, rate of learning, memory, motivation, and general intellectual ability. Recognition of the wide disparity in student characterisics has caused some educators to move from the concept of group-based instruction on a common curriculum toward instructional programs which attempt to meet the individual differences and needs of students. The fundamental
Path based buffer insertion

Along with the progress of VLSI technology, buffer insertion plays an increasingly critical role on affecting circuit design and performance. Traditional buffer insertion algorithms are mostly net based and therefore often result in sub-optimal delay or unnecessary buffer expense due to the lack of global view. In this paper, we propose a novel path based buffer insertion scheme which can overcome the weakness of the net based approaches. We also discuss some potential difficulties of the path based buffer insertion approach and propose solutions to them. A fast estimation on buffered delay is employed to improve the solution quality. Gate sizing is also considered at the same time. Experimental results show that our method can efficiently reduce buffer/gate cost significantly (by 71 % on average) when compared to traditional net based approaches. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work on path based buffer insertion and simultaneous gate sizing.