Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electrophysiological Cross-Modality Comparisons of Infant Individual Differences in Holistic Processing and Selective Inhibition

Holistic, (global) processing refers to the integration of local stimulus features into a larger perceptual form with an interpretation independent of its parts. While global precedence is the norm for adults, infants’ perception depends greatly upon individual differences. Using a novel auditory AX-CPT (AX Continuous Performance Task) this study examined congruence between auditory and visual holistic processing in 6 month-olds as measured by saccade latency and look duration. The task was designed so that holistic processing impaired performance. Results confirmed congruence between modalities with impaired performance of visual holisticprocessors on trials which punished auditory holistic processing, despite previous findings of increased recognition memory in these infants. Current findings are explored in the context of a proposed inhibitory mechanism accounting for individual differences. Finally, computational models are explored, supportive of a first-order stochastic differential equation for changes in looking behavior across trials, similar to the Rescorla-Wagner model. Cross Modality Holistic Processing 3
A Novel Authentication Method Using Multi-Factor Eye Gaze

A method for novel, rapid and robust one-step multi-factor authentication of a user is presented, employing multi-factor eye gaze. The mobile environment presents challenges that render the conventional password model obsolete. The primary goal is to offer an authentication method that competitively replaces the password, while offering improved security and usability. This method and apparatus combine the smooth operation of biometric authentication with the protection of knowledge based authentication to robustly authenticate a user and secure information on a mobile device in a manner that is easily used and requires no external hardware. This work demonstrates a solution comprised of a pupil segmentation algorithm, gaze estimation, and an innovative application that allows a user to authenticate oneself using gaze as the interaction medium.
Aspirin for the primary prevention of skin cancer: A meta-analysis

Skin cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. There are three major skin cancer types: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. General risk factors for skin cancer include fair skin, a history of tanning and sunburn, family history of skin cancer, exposure to ultraviolet rays and a large number of moles. The incidence of skin cancer has increased in the USA in recent years. Aspirin intake is associated with chemoprotection against the development of a number of types of cancer. However, whether aspirin intake can reduce the risk of development of skin cancer is unclear. The present meta-analysis of available human studies is aimed at evaluating the association between aspirin exposure and the risk of skin cancer. All available human observational studies on aspirin intake for the primary prevention of skin cancer were identified by searching MEDLINE (Pubmed), BIOSIS, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Infrastructure prior to March 2013. The heterogeneity and publication bias of all studies were evaluated using Cochran’s Q and I2 statistics, followed by a random-effect model where applicable. The pooled data were analyzed by odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A total of eight case-control and five prospective cohort studies from 11 publications were selected for this analysis. There was no evidence of publication bias in these studies. Statistical analyses of the pooled data demonstrated that that a daily dose of 50–400 mg aspirin was significantly associated with a reduced risk of skin cancers (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.90–0.99; P=0.02). Stratification analysis indicated that the continual intake of low dose aspirin (≤150 mg) reduced the risk of developing skin cancer (OR, 0.95; CI, 0.90–0.99; P=0.15) and that aspirin intake was significantly associated with a reduced risk of non-melanoma skin cancers (OR, 0.97; CI, 0.95–0.99; P=0.22). Overall, these findings indicated that aspirin intake was associated with a reduced risk of developing skin cancer. However, more well-designed randomized controlled trials to measure the effects of aspirin intake are required to confirm this.
Fixing Races for Fun and Profit: How to Use access(2)

It is well known that it is insecure to use the access(2) system call in a setuid program to test for the ability of the program's executor to access a file before opening said file. Although the access(2) call appears to have been designed exactly for this use, such use is vulnerable to a race condition. This race condition is a classic example of a time-of-check-to-time-of-use (TOCTTOU) problem. We prove the "folk theorem" that no portable, deterministic solution exists without changes to the system call interface, we present a probabilistic solution, and we examine the effect of increasing CPU speeds on the exploitability of the attack.
Relative accuracy measures for stroke gestures

Current measures of stroke gesture articulation lack descriptive power because they only capture absolute characteristics about the gesture as a whole, not fine-grained features that reveal subtleties about the gesture articulation path. We present a set of twelve new relative accuracy measures for stroke gesture articulation that characterize the geometric, kinematic, and articulation accuracy of single and multi-stroke gestures. To compute the accuracy measures, we introduce the concept of a gesture task axis. We evaluate our measures on five public datasets comprising 38,245 samples from 107 participants, about which we make new discoveries; e.g., gestures articulated at fast speed are shorter in path length than slow or medium-speed gestures, but their path lengths vary the most, a finding that helps understand recognition performance. This work will enable a better understanding of users' stroke gesture articulation behavior, ultimately leading to better gesture set designs and more accurate recognizers.
Peptide-Modified Surfaces for Enzyme Immobilization

Background Chemistry and particularly enzymology at surfaces is a topic of rapidly growing interest, both in terms of its role in biological systems and its application in biocatalysis. Existing protein immobilization approaches, including noncovalent or covalent attachments to solid supports, have difficulties in controlling protein orientation, reducing nonspecific absorption and preventing protein denaturation. New strategies for enzyme immobilization are needed that allow the precise control over orientation and position and thereby provide optimized activity. Methodology/Principal Findings A method is presented for utilizing peptide ligands to immobilize enzymes on surfaces with improved enzyme activity and stability. The appropriate peptide ligands have been rapidly selected from high-density arrays and when desirable, the peptide sequences were further optimized by single-point variant screening to enhance both the affinity and activity of the bound enzyme. For proof of concept, the peptides that bound to β-galactosidase and optimized its activity were covalently attached to surfaces for the purpose of capturing target enzymes. Compared to conventional methods, enzymes immobilized on peptide-modified surfaces exhibited higher specific activity and stability, as well as controlled protein orientation. Conclusions/Significance A simple method for immobilizing enzymes through specific interactions with peptides anchored on surfaces has been developed. This approach will be applicable to the immobilization of a wide variety of enzymes on surfaces with optimized orientation, location and performance, and provides a potential mechanism for the patterned self-assembly of multiple enzymes on surfaces.
Stratigraphy and paleoenvironments of the early to middle Holocene Chipalamawamba Beds (Malawi Basin, Africa)

Abstract. We describe the Chipalamawamba Beds, early to middle Holocene deposits at the southern margin of long-lived Lake Malawi. The beds are exposed because of downcutting of the upper Shire River. The Chipalamawamba sediments are medium to coarse, yellow to brown sands deposited in lenses varying in horizontal extent from a few meters to several hundreds of meters. Four units are recognized; the first three mainly contain lacustrine sediments deposited during lake high stands about 10.6–9.7 cal ka BP (Unit 1), 7.6–6.5 cal ka BP (Unit 2) and 5.9–5.3 cal ka BP (Unit 3). Sediments of Unit 4 overlay Units 1 to 3, are coarser and display regular foresets and oblique-bedding, suggesting deposition in riverine environments after installation of the Shire River (~ 5.5–5.0 ka BP). Freshwater mollusk assemblages and bioturbation regularly occur in the lacustrine sediments, but are largely absent from Unit 4. Diverse and often contradicting hypotheses on the lake levels of Lake Malawi have been proposed for the early and middle Holocene. The Chipalamawamba Beds allow straightforward recognition of water levels and provide strong evidence for oscillating lake levels during this period, rather than continuous high or low levels. Sedimentation rates have been high and individual shell beds have typically been deposited during a few decades. Because the Chipalamawamba Beds contain a sequence of mollusk assemblages with intervals between subsequent shell beds ranging from a century to a few millennia, they enable paleontological analysis of the fauna with an unusually high temporal resolution. That some mollusk lineages inhabiting Lake Malawi are in the early stages of diversification and radiation increases the paleobiological relevance of these beds.
Low Temperature Formation of Silver and Silver-Copper Alloy Nano-Particles Using Plasma Enhanced Hydrogenation and Their Optical Properties

In this paper, a novel method of producing nanoparticles at low temperatures using hydrogen bombardment of thin films, deposited on glass substrates, is introduced. Silver nanoparticles were obtained by this method in our Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition system. Optical and morphological characteristics of these nanoparticles were extensively studied for various conditions of plasma treatment, such as plasma power density, temperature, duration of hydrogen bombardment, thickness of the initial thin metallic film etc. In addition, Ag-Cu alloy nanoparticles on glass substrates were also achieved. The process of nanoparticle formation in this method shows that several kinds of metals and semiconductors nanoparticles can be obtained using this approach. Scanning Electron Microscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy were used to analyze the nanostructures.
Experimental study on seismic behavior of brick walls strengthened with embedded bars

A masonry wall strengthening method was proposed where horizontal slots are cut mechanically first and then embedding rebars with special glue bond.Two masonry walls strengthened with embedded rebars and two comparative models without strengthening were tested under low cycle reversed loading to study the effect of the strengthening method.Comparison of the ultimate strength,ductility,failure mode and stiffness degradation of the strengthened and the comparative models shows the beneficial effects of the embedded rebars.The shear-resisting capacity of strengthened walls is improved about 25%. Based on the analysis of the strengthening mechanism,a method was proposed for calculating the shear strength of the masonry walls strengthened with embedded rebars.
A framework for geometrically non-linear gradient extended crystal plasticity coupled to heat conduction and damage

Gradient enhanced theories of crystal plasticity enjoy great research interest. The focus of this work is on thermodynamically consistent modeling of grain size dependent hardening effects. In this contribution, we develop a model framework for damage coupled to gradient enhanced crystal thermoplasticity. The damage initiation is directly linked to the accumulated plastic slip. The theoretical setting is that of finite strains. Numerical results on single-crystalline metal showing the development of damage conclude the paper.
Maternal prepregnancy obesity and insulin treatment during pregnancy are independently associated with delayed lactogenesis in women with recent gestational diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND The timely onset of stage II lactogenesis (OL) is important for successful breastfeeding and newborn health. Several risk factors for delayed OL are common in women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), which may affect their chances for successful breastfeeding outcomes. OBJECTIVE We investigated the prevalence and risk factors associated with delayed OL in a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of postpartum women with recent GDM. DESIGN We analyzed data collected in the Study of Women, Infant Feeding and Type 2 Diabetes After GDM Pregnancy (SWIFT), which is a prospective cohort of women diagnosed with GDM who delivered at Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals from 2008 to 2011. At 6-9 wk postpartum, delayed OL was assessed by maternal report of breast fullness and defined as occurring after 72 h postpartum. We obtained data on prenatal course and postdelivery infant feeding practices from electronic medical records and in-person surveys. We used multivariable logistic regression models to estimate associations of delayed OL with prenatal, delivery, and postnatal characteristics. RESULTS The analysis included 883 SWIFT participants who initiated breastfeeding and did not have diabetes at 6-9 wk postpartum. Delayed OL was reported by 33% of women and was associated with prepregnancy obesity (OR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.07, 2.29), older maternal age (OR: 1.05; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.08), insulin GDM treatment (OR: 3.11; 95% CI: 1.37, 7.05), and suboptimal in-hospital breastfeeding (OR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.20, 2.26). A higher gestational age was associated with decreased odds of delayed OL but only in multiparous mothers (OR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.67, 0.94). CONCLUSIONS One-third of women with recent GDM experienced delayed OL. Maternal obesity, insulin treatment, and suboptimal in-hospital breastfeeding were key risk factors for delayed OL. Early breastfeeding support for GDM women with these risk factors may be needed to ensure successful lactation. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01967030.
Self-reported alcohol intake and risk of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a prospective cohort study

Objective To evaluate the relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD). Methods and measurements We conducted a secondary analysis of data previously collected in a large, multicenter trial of daily azithromycin in COPD. To analyze the relationship between amount of baseline self-reported alcohol consumption in the past 12 months and subsequent AECOPD, we categorized the subjects as minimal (<1 drink/month), light-to-moderate (1–60 drinks/month), or heavy alcohol users (>60 drinks/month). The primary outcome was time to first AECOPD and the secondary outcome was AECOPD rate during the 1-year study period. Results Of the 1,142 enrolled participants, 1,082 completed baseline alcohol questionnaires and were included in this analysis. Six hundred and forty-five participants reported minimal alcohol intake, 363 reported light-to-moderate intake, and 74 reported heavy intake. There were no statistically significant differences in median time to first AECOPD among minimal (195 days), light-to-moderate (241 days), and heavy drinkers (288 days) (P=0.11). The mean crude rate of AECOPD did not significantly differ between minimal (1.62 events per year) and light-to-moderate (1.44 events per year) (P=0.095), or heavy drinkers (1.68 events per year) (P=0.796). There were no significant differences in hazard ratios for AECOPD after adjustment for multiple covariates. Conclusion Among persons with COPD at high risk of exacerbation, we found no significant relationship between self-reported baseline alcohol intake and subsequent exacerbations. The number of patients reporting heavy alcohol intake was small and further study is needed to determine the effect of heavy alcohol intake on AECOPD risk.
Ultrafast Electron Injection Dynamics of Photoanodes for Water-Splitting Dye-Sensitized Photoelectrochemical Cells

Efficient conversion of solar energy into useful chemical fuels is a major scientific challenge. Water-splitting dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells (WS-DSPECs) utilize mesoporous oxide supports sensitized with molecular dyes and catalysts to drive the water-splitting reaction. Despite a growing body of work, the overall efficiencies of WS-DSPECs remain low, in large part because of poor electron injection into the conduction band of the oxide support. In this study, we characterize the ultrafast injection dynamics of several proposed oxide supports (TiO2, TiO2/Al2O3, SnO2, SnO2/TiO2) under identical conditions using time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. In the absence of an Al2O3 overlayer, we observe a two-step injection from the dye singlet state into nonmobile surface traps, which then relax into the oxide conduction band. We also find that, in SnO2-core/TiO2-shell configurations, electron injection into TiO2 trap states occurs rapidly, followed by trapped electrons being released into SnO2 on t.
The ‘Mini Nutritional Assessment’ (MNA) and the ‘Determine Your Nutritional Health’ Checklist (NSI Checklist) as predictors of morbidity and mortality in an elderly Danish population

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the capacity of the‘Determine Your Nutritional Health’ Checklist (NSI Checklist) and the ‘Mini Nutritional Assessment’ (MNA) methods to predict nutrition-related health problems. Data were from the Danish part of the ‘Survey in Europe of Nutrition in the Elderly, a Concerted Action’ (SENECA) baseline survey from 1988, and the follow-up study from 1993. Based on the baseline survey thirty-nine (19.3 %) of the subjects were classified at high nutritional risk, 103 (51 %) were considered at moderate nutritional risk and sixty (29.7 %) were within the ‘good’ range according to the criteria in the NSI Checklist. With the MNA, 171 subjects were classified according to their nutritional risk into a well-nourished group, comprising 78.4 %, and a group who were at risk of undernutrition, comprising 21·6 % at baseline. A total of 115 subjects participated in the follow-up study. The mortality rate and the prevalence of various morbidity indicators were compared between the different risk groups. The analysis showed that subjects with a high MNA score (≥ 24) had significantly lower mortality (rate ratio estimate: 0.35; 95 % Cl 0.18, 0.66) compared with subjects with a low MNA score (≤ 23.5). In contrast, the NSI Checklist score was not a significant predictor of mortality (rate ratio estimate: 1.45; 95 % Cl 0.78, 2.71). The sixteen Danes judged to be at high nutritional risk by the NSI Checklist in 1988, had more acute diseases (P < 0.001) than the rest of the participants, between 1988 and 1993. No significant differences were found in the participation rates, hospitalization rates, physician visits, need of help or weight loss between the groups. The thirteen Danes judged to be at risk of undernutrition in 1988 by the MNA, had a lower participation rate (P < 0.01) and higher occurrence of acute disease (P < 0.05), need of help (P < 0.05), and weight loss (P < 0.001) than the well-nourished group, between 1988 and 1993. No significant differences were found in hospitalization rates and physician visits between the two groups. In conclusion, the results indicate that modified versions of the NSI Checklist and the MNA are capable of identifying a group of 70–75-year-old subjects with increased risk of certain nutrition-related health problems. Further, an MNA score ≤ 23.5 predicts mortality in a Danish population.
~1H-NMR RELAXATION AND STATE EVOLVEMENT OF EVAPORABLE WATER IN CEMENT PASTES

Transverse relaxation time t2 and state evolvement of evaporable water in hardened cement pastes were investigated by means of low field 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance.The results show that as the curing time increases,the t2 distribution peaks shift gradually to the short t2 values combined with the weighted mean t2 of predominance peaks decrease.In addition,the relative content of gel water increases in correlation with the decrease of capillary water.As the results of hydration production filled the space between particles in the hardened cement pastes,the evaporable water became concentrated in the micropores and existed mostly as gel water.
Dispersal of juvenile collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) in a high-density population

We tested whether dispersal of juvenile lemmings occurs at high population densities and whether predation risk affects movements of juveniles. The study was conducted in July and August 1996 on the Kent Peninsula, Northwest Territories, during a peak in the lemming cycle. We fitted 43 juvenile collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) of the summer generations on a control plot and a predator-exclosure plot with radio transmitters and examined their home ranges and movement patterns. We tested the following hypotheses: (i) extensive juvenile dispersal will occur at high population densities, ( ii) male juveniles will move greater distances than females, and (iii) juveniles will move greater distances in the absence of predators. We rejected all these hypotheses. All juvenile collared lemmings remained in the vicinity of their original home ranges. Home-range sizes of all juveniles were similar, the mean size being 100 m 2 . Mean and maximum distances moved were similar among all juveniles. However, juveniles moved less frequently on the control plot than on the exclosure plot. Juvenile collared lemmings do not disperse at high densities. The lack of dispersal may have been the result of avoidance of confrontations with other lemmings, and may also have been related to delayed breeding, since most juveniles and subadults did not mature in late summer. Differential predation risk or predation mortality may have had no effect on the distances moved by juveniles or may have been masked by strong density effects on both plots.
Applied Economics Workshop Business 33610 Spring Quarter 2010 Preference Heterogeneity and Optimal Capital Income Taxation

We analytically and quantitatively examine a prominent justi…cation for capital income taxation: goods preferred by those with high ability ought to be taxed. We study an environment where commodity taxes are allowed to be nonlinear functions of income and consumption and show that a relationship between ability and preferences over goods provides a novel reason for sophisticated distortionary commodity taxation. For a two-type economy, we show that optimal relative marginal commodity taxes on a good preferred by high ability individuals are regressive: i.e., declining with income. For an economy with a continuum of types, we derive and explain an analytical expression for optimal commodity taxation, showing how preference variation allows for better screening of ability types. We then calibrate the model to evidence on the relationship between skills and preferences and examine the quantitative case for taxes on future consumption (saving). The relationship between skill and time preference delivers quantitatively small, generally regressive capital income taxes and would justify only a fraction of the prevailing level of capital income taxation.