Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structure-Mapping and the Simile -- Metaphor Preference

This article aims to provide cognitively motivated evidence for the nonequivalence view of simile and metaphor. This evidence was derived from a study based on two preference tasks in which participants were asked to select the linguistic form that conveys the comparison most adequately and naturally. Adopting Gentner's (1983) "Structure-Mapping" analysis, I was able to establish a correlation between the type of comparison (attributive, relational, or double) and the means speakers select to best represent each such comparison. The results of this study strongly suggest that similes are the preferred linguistic representation for mapping attributive predicates, whereas metaphors are favored for mapping relational predicates. The study further considered the results of the double comparisons.
Biochemical and Anatomical Changes and Yield Reduction in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) under Varied Salinity Regimes

Five Malaysian rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties, MR33, MR52, MR211, MR219, and MR232, were tested in pot culture under different salinity regimes for biochemical response, physiological activity, and grain yield. Three different levels of salt stresses, namely, 4, 8, and 12 dS m−1, were used in a randomized complete block design with four replications under glass house conditions. The results revealed that the chlorophyll content, proline, sugar content, soluble protein, free amino acid, and yield per plant of all the genotypes were influenced by different salinity levels. The chlorophyll content was observed to decrease with salinity level but the proline increased with salinity levels in all varieties. Reducing sugar and total sugar increased up to 8 dS m−1 and decreased up to 12 dS m−1. Nonreducing sugar decreased with increasing the salinity levels in all varieties. Soluble protein and free amino acid also decreased with increasing salinity levels. Cortical cells of MR211 and MR232 did not show cell collapse up to 8 dS m−1 salinity levels compared to susceptible checks (IR20 and BRRI dhan29). Therefore, considering all parameters, MR211 and MR232 showed better salinity tolerance among the tested varieties. Both cluster and principal component analyses depict the similar results.
Hazard Ranking Method for Populations Exposed to Arsenic in Private Water Supplies: Relation to Bedrock Geology

Approximately one million people in the UK are served by private water supplies (PWS) where main municipal water supply system connection is not practical or where PWS is the preferred option. Chronic exposure to contaminants in PWS may have adverse effects on health. South West England is an area with elevated arsenic concentrations in groundwater and over 9000 domestic dwellings here are supplied by PWS. There remains uncertainty as to the extent of the population exposed to arsenic (As), and the factors predicting such exposure. We describe a hazard assessment model based on simplified geology with the potential to predict exposure to As in PWS. Households with a recorded PWS in Cornwall were recruited to take part in a water sampling programme from 2011 to 2013. Bedrock geologies were aggregated and classified into nine Simplified Bedrock Geological Categories (SBGC), plus a cross-cutting “mineralized” area. PWS were sampled by random selection within SBGCs and some 508 households volunteered for the study. Transformations of the data were explored to estimate the distribution of As concentrations for PWS by SBGC. Using the distribution per SBGC, we predict the proportion of dwellings that would be affected by high concentrations and rank the geologies according to hazard. Within most SBGCs, As concentrations were found to have log-normal distributions. Across these areas, the proportion of dwellings predicted to have drinking water over the prescribed concentration value (PCV) for As ranged from 0% to 20%. From these results, a pilot predictive model was developed calculating the proportion of PWS above the PCV for As and hazard ranking supports local decision making and prioritization. With further development and testing, this can help local authorities predict the number of dwellings that might fail the PCV for As, based on bedrock geology. The model presented here for Cornwall could be applied in areas with similar geologies. Application of the method requires independent validation and further groundwater-derived PWS sampling on other geological formations.
Effects of Peer Mentors on Work-Related Performance of Adolescents With Behavioral and/or Learning Disabilities

Many young people with behavior disorders and/or learning disabilities need assistance in learning work-related tasks but want support that is minimally intrusive and nonstigmatizing. This study demonstrates the effectiveness and acceptability of using peer mentors as natural supports to assist in improving work-related student performance in a cosmetology vocational training setting that serves school and community patrons. Peer mentors used demonstration, corrective feedback, and descriptive praise to provide in vivo training for four participants who were having difficulties learning verbal and nonverbal tasks. An intrasubject, multiple baseline design across tasks demonstrated the effectiveness of the peer mentors' role in teaching new skills, and responses to postintervention questionnaires indicated that the participants accepted the procedures.
Synthesis techniques for low-power hard real-time systems on variable voltage processors

The energy efficiency of systems-on-a-chip can be much improved if one were to vary the supply voltage dynamically at run time. We describe the synthesis of systems-on-a-chip based on core processors, while treating voltage (and correspondingly the clock frequency) as a variable to be scheduled along with the computation tasks during the static scheduling step. In addition to describing the complete synthesis design flow for these variable voltage systems, we focus on the problem of doing the voltage scheduling while taking into account the inherent limitation on the rates at which the voltage and clock frequency can be changed by the power supply controllers and clock generators. Taking these limits on rate of change into account is crucial, since changing the voltage by even a volt may take time equivalent to 100 s to 10000 s of instructions on modern processors. We present both an exact but impractical formulation of this scheduling problem as a set of nonlinear equations, as well as a heuristic approach based on reduction to an optimally solvable restricted ordered scheduling problem. Using various task mixes drawn from a set of nine real life applications, our results show that we are able to reduce power consumption to within 7% of the lower bound obtained by imposing no limit at the rate of change of voltage and clock frequencies.
Nausea is associated with endotoxemia during a 161-km ultramarathon

ABSTRACT This study explored possible contributing factors to gastrointestinal distress, including endotoxemia, hyperthermia, dehydration and nutrition, during a 161-km ultramarathon. Thirty runners participated in the study and 20 finished the race. At three checkpoints and the finish, runners were interviewed to assess the incidence and severity of 12 gastrointestinal symptoms and to determine dietary intake. Core temperature was measured at the same locations. Runners were weighed pre-race, at the three checkpoints and the finish to monitor hydration status. Blood markers for endotoxemia (sCD14) and inflammation (interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein) were measured pre- and post-race. Gastrointestinal symptoms were experienced by most runners (80%), with nausea being the most common complaint (60%). Runners with nausea experienced significantly greater (P = 0.02) endotoxemia than those without nausea (sCD14 mean increase 0.7 versus 0.5 µg · mL−1). There was a significant positive correlation (r = 0.652, P = 0.005) between nausea severity and endotoxemia level. Inflammatory response, core temperature, hydration level and race diet were similar between runners with and without nausea. This study links endotoxemia to nausea in ultramarathon runners. Other possible contributing factors to nausea such as hyperthermia, dehydration and nutrition did not appear to play a role in the symptomatic runners in this study.
A biologically inspired system for fast handwritten digit recognition

Inspired by information processing of complex cells in visual cortex, we present a simple system for fast and robust feature extraction. Our method includes an unsupervised algorithm for learning invariant descriptors from data, and an architecture for the task of digit recognition. The proposed algorithm is not only efficient that training can be accomplished in a few iterations, but can map test data into invariant representations directly, in contrast to most existing generative model, which must perform inference by minimizing energy functions. The simulation results on the well known MNIST database show that these learnt descriptors demonstrate a clear topography with similar properties of complex cells, and extract features that are invariant to minor variations of input data. Recognition experiments also show that the learnt invariant feature descriptors improve the accuracy than classical feature descriptors and yield comparable classification results.
Intellectual disability, personality disorder and offending: a systematic review

Purpose – This review seeks to systematically review studies where personality disorder has been explored as a descriptive or possible predictive factor in offending behaviour in people with an intellectual disability. The papar aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic search of several databases was conducted and 15 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Findings – Methodological limitations and problems in accurate diagnosis within this client group preclude firm conclusions being reached. Originality/value – It is concluded that further research should be conducted, with particular attention paid to the conceptualisation and assessment of personality disorder.
Methods and moral inquiry

Despite a consistent and pervasive concern with analytic method, geography and the social sciences in general lack an adequately developed method of moral inquiry. When researchers working across a variety of political and ideological perspectives, for example, equally embraced the analytical turn in mid-twentieth century geography, the considerable disagreements among them rested not on methodological but on political and moral grounds. But while all the protagonists in this debate presented themselves as moral actors, their moral judgments were exogenous to their analytical methods, and none of those methods provide a usable way to evaluate their respective moral claims. The legacy of positivism and its debates is to make us believe that the challenge we face is to become better methodologists, leaving unresolved the problem of how to become better moral agents, a question raised by John Dewey nearly a century ago. Rephrasing the question in this way encourages us to stop thinking of the moral question as a search for means to achieving desired outcomes, instead elevating moral inquiry as an end in itself. Such a shift changes the problem from knowing and representing the world so as to point toward moral outcomes and instead expands our ability to produce moral knowledge. If our challenge is not about making moral judgments but rather about pursuing moral inquiry, what is needed is a method of moral inquiry, one that Dewey located in science understood not as an analytic method but as democratic practice.
The role of T-box genes in the tumorigenesis and progression of cancer

The T-box (TBX) genes are part of an evolutionarily conserved family of transcription factors involved in organ development. They serve key roles in a number of molecular mechanisms, including proliferation, cell fate and organ identity. In addition, previous studies suggest that TBX genes have essential functions in the tumorigenesis and progression of various types of cancer. For example, TBX proteins served significant roles in carcinogenesis, proliferation and differentiation, senescence and apoptosis, invasion and migration, mesenchymal-epithelial and epithelial-mesenchymal transition, oncogenic signaling pathways and drug sensitivity. However, the exact mechanisms by which TBX genes carry out these functions have not yet been fully elucidated. The present review focuses on the role of TBX genes in cancer, with the aim of further clarifying their function. As altered levels of TBX proteins have detrimental consequences in numerous types of cancer, there is a need for further research into TBX genes, which this review may aid through providing a comprehensive insight into the topic.
Training, development, education and learning: different or the same?

Attempts to discuss the concepts of training, development, education and learning with regard to employees in terms of their substantive differences. Discusses how these concepts have evolved historically within human resource management and development (HRM/D) literature. Provides an analysis of how alternative models of HRM/D may influence the meaning given to these concepts in an organizational context. Concludes that it is perhaps more appropriate to view training, development and education as an integrated whole with the concept of learning as the glue which holds them together.
Prognostic Significance of the Centers for Disease Control/American Heart Association High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Cut Points for Cardiovascular and Other Outcomes in Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease

Background— Data supporting the prognostic significance of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) are derived largely from individuals with no overt coronary artery disease or from patients with acute coronary syndromes. In contrast, the ability of hs-CRP to predict outcomes in patients with stable coronary artery disease and the prognostic significance of the Centers for Disease Control/American Heart Association hs-CRP cut points in such a population remain relatively unexplored. Methods and Results— We measured hs-CRP in 3771 patients with stable coronary artery disease from the Prevention of Events With Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibition (PEACE) trial, a randomized placebo-controlled trial of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor trandolapril. Patients were followed up for a median of 4.8 years for cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke, as well as new heart failure and diabetes. After adjustment for baseline characteristics and treatments, higher hs-CRP levels, even >1 mg/L, were associated with a significantly greater risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hs-CRP 1 to 3 mg/L: adjusted hazard ratio, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.81; P=0.016; hs-CRP >3 mg/L: adjusted hazard ratio, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.15 to 2.02; P=0.003). Similarly, elevated hs-CRP levels were an independent predictor of new heart failure (adjusted P<0.001 for trend) and new diabetes (adjusted P<0.001 for trend). There were no significant interactions between hs-CRP levels and the effects of trandolapril on any of the above outcomes. Conclusions— In stable coronary artery disease, an elevated hs-CRP level, even >1 mg/L, is a significant predictor of adverse cardiovascular events independently of baseline characteristics and treatments. An elevated hs-CRP does not appear to identify patients with stable coronary artery disease and preserved ejection fraction who derive particular benefit from angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition.
Pattern segmentation in textile images

This paper presents some results regarding the automatic segmentation of patterns in images of textile samples. The pattern segmentation is necessary for further extraction of a set of shape descriptors to be used in a CBIR database for textiles. Five different filters for removing the fabrics texture have been tested: mean, median, Gaussian, soft wavelet thresholding and a new approach based on Wavelet Transform and Independent Components Analysis. For segmentation, due to the poor color content of the images, the binarization proved to be a satisfactory choice. Three algorithms for the threshold computation have been tested: Otsu, background symmetry and triangle.
Prediction of chromosomal aneuploidy from gene expression data

Chromosomal aneuploidy is commonly observed in neoplastic diseases and is an important prognostic marker. Here we examine how gene expression profiles reflect aneuploidy and whether these profiles can be used to detect changes in chromosome copy number. We developed two methods for detecting such changes in the gene expression profile of a single sample. The first method, fold‐change analysis, relies on the availability of gene expression data from a large cohort of patients with the same disease. The expression profile of the sample is compared with that of the dataset. The second method, chromosomal relative expression analysis, is more general and requires the expression data from the tested sample only. We found that the relative expression values are stable among different chromosomes and exhibit little variation between different normal tissues. We exploited this novel finding to establish the set of reference values needed to detect changes in the copy number of chromosomes in a single sample on the basis of gene expression levels. We measured the accuracy of the performance of each method by applying them to two independent leukemia datasets. The second method was also applied to two solid tumor datasets. We conclude that chromosomal aneuploidy can be detected and predicted by analysis of gene expression profiles. This article contains Supplementary Material available at http://www.interscience. wiley.com/jpages/1045‐2257/suppmat. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Working practices in Thai independent film production and distribution 1

Abstract In the late 1990s, independent Thai films became a new burgeoning industry, with the beginnings of international recognition. Taking three case studies, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mysterious Object at Noon (2000), Thunska Pansittivorakul’s Voodoo Girls (2003) and Aditya Assarat and Mingmongkol Sonakul’s Ma‐mee/ Three Friends (2005), I argue that the digital format for DVD/VCDs is paving the way for independent filmmakers/producers to participate in the art film market abroad and to cut production costs. Following the economics of money flows makes it clear that ‘independent film’ in Thailand is less about economic independence than a type of branding and packaging of aesthetics and content. While film, economically, is never outside the workings of capital, the content and style of the three film projects considered here seek to break out of the conventions set by the commercial Thai film narrative style.
AQP1 and SLC4A10 as candidate genes for primary open-angle glaucoma

Purpose Recent evidence supports the role of reduced cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure in the pathogenesis of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). We investigated the association of variants in two candidate genes that are important in CSF production, aquaporin 1 (AQP1) and solute carrier family 4, sodium bicarbonate transporter, member 10 (SLC4A10), with POAG in the Caucasian population. Methods POAG subjects (n=382) met the criteria of glaucomatous optic neuropathy with consistent visual field loss. Intraocular pressure was not used as an inclusion criterion. Control subjects (n=363) did not meet any of the inclusion criteria and had no family history of glaucoma. Eleven tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for AQP1 and SLC4A10 were genotyped in the POAG and control subjects, using allelic discrimination assays. Genotype frequencies were compared between the POAG and control subjects, using logistic regression adjusted for gender. Results There was no statistically significant difference in genotype frequencies between POAG and control subjects for any of the tested SNPs in AQP1 and SLC4A10 (p>0.05). Conclusions There was no association between common sequence variants in the AQP1 or SLC4A10 genes and POAG in the Caucasian population. This is the first study to investigate the association between these two candidate genes and increased risk for POAG.
A cache replacement policy to reduce cache miss rate for multiprocessor architecture

In this paper, a new cache replacement policy named Selection Alternative Replacement (SAR), which minimizes shared cache miss rate in chip multi-processor architecture, is proposed. A variety of cache replacement policies have been used for minimizing the cache misses. However, replacing cache items which have high utilization leads to additional cache misses. SAR policy stores the labels of discarded cache items and uses stored information to prevent additional cache misses. The results of experiments show that the SAR policy decreases cache miss rate by 6.01% averagely and enhances instruction per cycle by 7.01% averagely compared with the conventional pseudo least recently used policy.
Droplet Striations Formed in a 900-MHz Microwave Argon Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Jet

Unique striations were observed in the formation of 900-MHz microwave argon atmospheric-pressure plasma jet in air. The striated patterns are easily observed even with the naked eyes at a flow rate of above 3 slm and an input power of below 3 W. Moreover, the striated patterns, which were associated with shortening in the plasma jet length, are obtained by adding less than 1 vol.% of O2 gas to Ar.
Students' Perceptions of Teacher Support Across the Transition from Primary to Secondary School

This study examines the degree to which students' perceptions of teacher support are related to school type (primary versus secondary). The sample included 7,205 students from years 5 to 7 in primary school and years 8 to 10 in secondary school. Previous research has concluded that perceptions of school change negatively when students move from primary to secondary school. However, this research has been criticized for not accounting for age‐related changes in students' perception of school. Results from this study show a linear downwards tendency for perceived teacher support, with no obvious abrupt change between primary and secondary school. Our findings do not, therefore, support the idea that the transition from primary to secondary school affects students' perception of teacher support in a negative way.
Realtime garbage collection in the JamaicaVM 3.0

This paper provides an overview of the realtime garbage collector used by the RTSJ Java Virtual Machine JamaicaVM. A particular emphasis will be made on the improvements made in with release 3.0 JamaicaVM. The JamaicaVM garbage collector is incremental to an extreme extent: single incremental steps of the garbage collector correspond to scanning only 32 bytes of memory and have a worst-case execution time in the order of one μsec. The JamaicaVM garbage collector uses automatic pacing, making the system easier to configure than a garbage collector using explicit pacing that requires information on the application's allocation rate. The recent improvements of the garbage collector that will be present in this paper include support for automatic heap expansion; reduction of the memory overhead for garbage collector internal structures; and significant performance optimisation such as a faster write-barrier and a sweep phase that does not need to touch the objects and therefore reduces the number of cache misses caused during sweep.