Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Going With the Flow

In two experiments, 3- and 4-year-olds were tested for their sensitivity to agreement and disagreement among informants. In pretest trials, they watched as three of four informants (Experiment 1) or two of three informants (Experiment 2) indicated the same referent for an unfamiliar label; the remaining informant was a lone dissenter who indicated a different referent. Asked for their own judgment, the preschoolers sided with the majority rather than the dissenter. In subsequent test trials, one member of the majority and the dissenter remained present and continued to provide conflicting information about the names of unfamiliar objects. Children remained mistrustful of the dissenter. They preferred to seek and endorse information from the informant who had belonged to the majority. The implications and scope of children's early sensitivity to group consensus are discussed.
Alterations in collagen production in mixed mononuclear leukocyte- fibroblast cultures

The cell-cell interactions between fibroblasts and mononuclear leukocytes (MNL) which promote alterations in collagen accumulation were examined using a system of co-culture of human fibroblasts and peripheral blood MNL. The stimulation of collagen production was optimal after 48 h of co-culture and the increase in collagen correlated directly with the number of MNL added. The enhancement of collagen production was seen in both autologous and allogeneic co-cultures. Stimulation of non-collagenous protein was also noted. Co-culture supernatants contained soluble substances that were capable of stimulating collagen production, although they stimulated collagen production to a lesser degree than direct co-culture. Fractionation of these supernatants on Sephadex G-200 revealed a predominant area of stimulatory activity at 160,000 mol wt. Lesser areas of activity were noted at molecular weights of 80,000 and 25,000. Determination of the types of collagen produced by fibroblasts during co-culture with MNL showed that the ratio of type I:III collagen was decreased. These alterations in both the quantitative and qualitative accumulation of collagen mimic the changes often seen in wound healing and early inflammation suggesting that cellular interactions between fibroblasts and MNL may be important in the modulation of collagen production in normal and pathologic states.
Mutations linked to familial hypokalaemic periodic paralysis in the calcium channel α1 subunit gene (Cav1·1) are not associated with thyrotoxic hypokalaemic periodic paralysis

objective To investigate whether patients with thyrotoxic hypokalaemic periodic paralysis (THPP) have the same molecular defect in the calcium channel gene described in familial hypokalaemic periodic paralysis (FHPP), as the symptoms of both diseases are comparable, we analysed, in patients with THPP, the presence of mutations R528H, R1239H and R1239G on the S4 voltage‐sensing transmembrane segment of the α1 subunit of the calcium channel gene (Cav1·1).
Open State Destabilization by Atp Occupancy Is Mechanism Speeding Burst Exit Underlying KATP Channel Inhibition by Atp

The ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel is named after its characteristic inhibition by intracellular ATP. The inhibition is a centerpiece of how the KATP channel sets electrical signaling to the energy state of the cell. In the β cell of the endocrine pancreas, for example, ATP inhibition results from high blood glucose levels and turns on electrical activity leading to insulin release. The underlying gating mechanism (ATP inhibition gating) includes ATP stabilization of closed states, but the action of ATP on the open state of the channel is disputed. The original models of ATP inhibition gating proposed that ATP directly binds the open state, whereas recent models indicate a prerequisite transition from the open to a closed state before ATP binds and inhibits activity. We tested these two classes of models by using kinetic analysis of single-channel currents from the cloned mouse pancreatic KATP channel expressed in Xenopus oocytes. In particular, we combined gating models based on fundamental rate law and burst gating kinetic considerations. The results demonstrate open-state ATP dependence as the major mechanism by which ATP speeds exit from the active burst state underlying inhibition of the KATP channel by ATP.
An efficient Energy Cluster-based Routing Protocol for wireless sensor networks

The primary energy and balance of energy consumption of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) plays a key role in network lifetime and stability. However, the energy of each node and the total energy in wireless sensor networks are limited. In this paper, an Efficient Energy Cluster-based Routing Protocol (EECRP) for wireless sensor network is presented and its properties are investigated. Its core is that using an uneven clustering method to organize network topology and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm to optimize the clusters, which can settle the problem of hot spot and blind nodes, separately. Simulation results show that the consumption energy of each node is effectively balanced. At the meantime, network lifetime is greatly increased using EECRP.
The natural history of brain contusion: an analysis of radiological and clinical progression.

OBJECT Although brain contusions are a common neurosurgical condition, surprisingly little has been written about their natural history. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that predict radiological and clinically significant progression of this pattern of traumatic brain injury in patients who did not initially require surgery. On the basis of their results and the available literature, the authors suggest a management algorithm. METHODS The authors performed a retrospective review of clinical and radiological records of consecutive patients with brain contusions who initially underwent conservative treatment. Significant radiological progression was defined as a 30% increase in contusion size on CT scans. Statistical analysis was performed to identify clinical and radiological predictors of CT contusion progression, the significance of progression, and predictors of clinical outcome. RESULTS Of 98 patients identified with brain contusions who initially received conservative treatment, 44 (45%) had significant progression on CT, and 19 (19%) required surgical intervention. The initial size of the contusion and the presence of subdural hematoma were the only statistically significant predictors of CT progression in the multivariate analysis (p = 0.0212 and 0.05, respectively). Four patients required delayed contusion evacuation (3 had radiological progression on follow-up scans). Good Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores on presentation and younger age were predictors of eventual discharge from the hospital (OR 1.471, CI 1.233-1.755, p < 0.001 and OR 0.949, CI 0.912-0.988, p = 0.011, respectively). No patients with an initial GCS score of 15 or an initial contusion size < 14 ml required delayed evacuation. CONCLUSIONS Contusion progression is a common phenomenon that is seen more commonly in larger contusions. Patients with large contusions and low initial GCS scores are at risk for delayed deterioration. A proposed management algorithm for patients with contusions initially treated conservatively may help practitioners identify the best course of treatment.
African American Preschoolers' Social and Emotional Competence at School: The Influence of Teachers and Mothers

Children learn social and emotional competence through socialization. Traditionally, research has focused attention on the role of Parents in this process; however, teachers also play an important part. The purpose of this study was to examine the social and emotional competence of preschool African American children and the role teachers and mothers play in supporting these competencies. Teachers who labeled children's emotions as positive and were responsive to them created a positive emotional classroom climate. Children in such classrooms were observed to engage in more social competence behaviors. Mothers who provided positive behavioral strategies for their children were also more likely to be emotionally responsive. Surprisingly, these positive behaviors were not related to their children's competence behaviors at school. The relative contribution of mothers' and teachers' behaviors to African American children's observed social and emotional competencies at school and the implications of this research are described.
Design of High-Speed Low-Power Two Level Voltage Converters using Multi-VTH CMOS Technology

The paper primarily focuses on reducing the power consumption without diminishing the speed of the circuit by using multiple supply voltages (Multi-VDD). Two multi threshold (Multi-VTH) level converter circuits are proposed and it is compared with the conventional circuits for operating at different supply voltages (Multi-VDD). The converter circuits are individually optimized for minimum power consumption and propagation delay. The speed and power consumption for the proposed level converters were analyzed.
REVISITING THE LINK BETWEEN COOPERATIVE CLIMATE AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING BEHAVIOR : THE ROLE OF JOB AUTONOMY AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

We explore the association between a cooperative climate in the organization and employees? knowledge sharing behavior. Existing research demonstrates that employees tend to be more willing to both provide and acquire knowledge if their working climate has higher levels of cooperation. However, this work has not considered the contingent value of this link. We propose that the explanatory power of a cooperative climate in the decision to share may be strengthened if job autonomy and intrinsic motivation are taken into consideration. Those high in job autonomy tend to be more affected by a cooperative climate to share knowledge. Conversely, those high in intrinsic motivation will be less influenced by climate cues when deciding to share knowledge. Our research also suggests relevant implications for practitioners.
Recent improvements on ARTIC: czech text-to-speech system

This paper presents recent improvements on ARTIC - the modern Czech corpus-based text-to-speech system. As a statistical approach (using hidden Markov models) was applied to create an acoustic unit inventory, several improvements concerning acoustic unit modelling, clustering and segmentation have been accomplished to increase the intelligibility of the resulting speech. Two approaches to the generation of prosodic features were also proposed and implemented to increase the naturalness of synthetic speech. To produce as smooth synthetic speech as possible, a multiple unit instance scheme with on-line unit candidate selection was proposed as well. Our work on an alternative harmonic/noise-based speech production method is also mentioned. In addition, an important step towards multilinguality was achieved as German and Slovak language modules were implemented besides two Czech voices within the framework of ARTIC TTS system.
Thieves, Gypsies, criminals and spongers: Anti-immigration rhetoric and Fear of Crime among Eastern European Migrants. The “UKIP effect”?

A great deal of research has been conducted on fear of crime (FoC) over last six decades. Most of this inquiry has, however, focused on the study of FoC among the general public, as such, much less is known about the nature and impact of this fear upon immigrants. For decades in the UK, the subject of immigration has continually divided public opinion, a fact that the tabloid media and the political-right have sought to capitalize upon through the use of sensationalist anti-immigration rhetoric. Based upon the accounts of twelve A2 and A8 European migrants, this study assesses the effect that anti-immigration media and political rhetoric has on Eastern-European migrants’ fear of crime and the factors that aggravate and mitigate its impact. A key finding of the study was that the majority of participants were not fearful of crime at all and did not believe that a risk of harm is exacerbated by hostile media or political rhetoric. For those who were fearful of crime, however, it was the experience of previous victimization that was most related to their fears. For these participants, hostile rhetoric was more threatening though not the main basis of their fears. For the majority of the participants, there were a number of mitigating (or protective) factors in their FoC, such as, their own understanding of their ethnicity, their English proficiency, the demographic of their local area, and their detachment from the groups that they saw as the target of the rhetoric. The study concludes that the rhetoric-FoC nexus is not linear and is subject to a multitude of individual and environmental factors that inform migrants’ perceptions of vulnerability, experience of FoC and the perceived aggravating role of rhetoric.
CX3 chemokine receptor 1 deficiency leads to reduced dendritic complexity and delayed maturation of newborn neurons in the adult mouse hippocampus

Previous studies have shown that microglia impact the proliferation and differentiation of neurons during hippocampal neurogenesis via the fractalkine/CX3 chemokine receptor 1 (CX3CR1) signaling pathway. However, whether microglia can influence the maturation and dendritic growth of newborn neurons during hippocampal neurogenesis remains unclear. In the present study, we found that the number of doublecortin-positive cells in the hippocampus was decreased, and the dendritic length and number of intersections in newborn neurons in the hippocampus were reduced in transgenic adult mice with CX3CR1 deficiency (CX3CR1GFP/GFP). Furthermore, after experimental seizures were induced with kainic acid in these CX3CR1-deficient mice, the expression of c-fos, a marker of neuronal activity, was reduced compared with wild-type mice. Collectively, the experimental findings indicate that the functional maturation of newborn neurons during hippocampal neurogenesis in adult mice is delayed by CX3CR1 deficiency.
Evolutionary Othello Players Boosted by Opening Knowledge

The evolutionary approach for gaming is different from the traditional one that exploits knowledge of the opening, middle, and endgame stages. It is therefore sometimes inefficient to evolve simple heuristics that may be created easily by humans because it is based purely on a bottom-up style of construction. Incorporating domain knowledge into evolutionary computation can improve the performance of evolved strategies and accelerate the speed of evolution by reducing the search space. In this paper, we develop an evolutionary Othello player with the systematic insertion of opening knowledge into the framework of evolution. The probability of opening selection is coming from the expert's opening list. Preliminary experimental results show that the proposed method is promising for generating better strategies for Othello players.
Monte-carlo Sampling, Particle Filters and Segmentation of Coronaries

In this report, we propose a particle filter-based propagation approach for the segmentation of vascular structures in 3D volumes. In our approach, successive planes of the structure are modeled as states of a particle filter. Such a state consists in the 3D structure, orientation, position, geometric form and appearance in statistical means. In order to account for bifurcations and branchings, we consider a Monte Carlo sampling rule that propagates in parallel multiple hypotheses. In order to account for prior knowledge, notions of a linear (Kalman) filter are incorporated within the proposed approach. The prior knowledge constrains the vessel detection, which combines edge-driven and region-based metrics. Promising results on the segmentation of coronary arteries demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach.
Contour-based classification of video objects

The recognition of objects that appear in a video sequence is an essential aspect of any video content analysis system. We present an approach which classifies a segmented video object base don its appearance in successive video frames. The classification is performed by matching curvature features of the contours of these object views to a database containing preprocessed views of prototypical objects using a modified curvature scale space technique. By integrating the result of an umber of successive frames and by using the modified curvature scale space technique as an efficient representation of object contours, our approach enables the robust, tolerant and rapid object classification of video objects.
CeTA - A Tool for Certified Termination Analysis

Since the first termination competition in 2004 it is of great interest, whether a proof that has been automatically generated by a termination tool, is indeed correct. The increasing number of termination proving techniques as well as the increasing complexity of generated proofs (e.g., combinations of several techniques, exhaustive labelings, tree automata, etc.), make certifying (i.e., checking the correctness of) such proofs more and more tedious for humans. Hence the interest in automated certification of termination proofs. This led to the general approach of using proof assistants (like Coq and Isabelle) for certification. We present the latest developments for IsaFoR/CeTA (version 1.03) which is the certifier CeTA, based on the Isabelle/HOL formalization of rewriting IsaFoR.
Joint learning for multi-class object detection

In practice, multiple objects in images are located by consecutively applying one detector for each class and taking the best confident score. In this work, we propose to show the advantage of grouping similar object classes into a hierarchical structure. While this approach has found interest in image classification, it is not analyzed for the object detection task. Each node in the hierarchy represents one decision line. All the decision lines are learned jointly using a novel problem formulation. Based on experiments using PASCAL VOC 2007 dataset, we show that our approach improves detection performance compared to a baseline approach.
The use of IP-anycast to construct efficient multicast trees

This thesis consists of three parts: the design of a framework for an Internet-wide IP anycast service, the application of this framework in optimizing the cost of core based multicast trees, and the development of a new interdomain multicast protocol. The anycast framework solves the intrinsic scalability problem associated with a global IP anycast service. It does so by dividing the interdomain anycast routing system into two modules. The first module provides low-cost anycast routes. The second module, run by the end domains, generates enhanced anycast routes that are customized according to the beneficiary domains interests. The design uses an adaptive caching system plus a route learning mechanism. The second part of the thesis uses the IP anycast service to extend the Core-BasedTree multicast protocol (CBT) with the option to build optimized cost dynamic-core trees. These trees are free from the two major drawbacks shown by CBTs poor core placement and traffic concentration around the core router. The proposed extension makes all on-tree routers join the same anycast group such that the multicast tree appears to all off-tree routers as one network entity, which can be addressed directly. We use this property to direct data packets and join requests along the shortest path to the tree decreasing bandwidth consumption and join latency. Since the resulting tree is simultaneously an anycast group and a core based tree, we call it an ACBT. Our simulation shows that ACBT reduces bandwidth consumption by a factor of 25 In the last part of this thesis, we develop FleSc a flexible and scalable interdomain multicast protocol. Our protocol builds on the BGMP model to establish bi-directional trees rooted at an owner domain. However, our design differs from BGMP in two important ways. First, it uses ideas from our anycast framework to favor short local branches over hierarchical long ones. Second, the established tree uses hard state, which prevents transient loops and facilitates the establishment of alternative branches when the default ones do not accommodate the desired QoS. The architecture is scalable since it uses a small set of hierarchical aggregatable multicast routes that are extended at each end domain with a set of on-demand generated routes, which are customized according to the domains interests. It is flexible since it provides a variety of possible branches to chose from the one that reduces band-
Seven-Year Neurodevelopmental Scores and Prenatal Exposure to Chlorpyrifos, a Common Agricultural Pesticide

Background: In a longitudinal birth cohort study of inner-city mothers and children (Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health), we have previously reported that prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF) was associated with neurodevelopmental problems at 3 years of age. Objective: The goal of the study was to estimate the relationship between prenatal CPF exposure and neurodevelopment among cohort children at 7 years of age. Methods: In a sample of 265 children, participants in a prospective study of air pollution, we measured prenatal CPF exposure using umbilical cord blood plasma (picograms/gram plasma) and 7-year neurodevelopment using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th edition (WISC-IV). Linear regression models were used to estimate associations, with covariate selection based on two alternate approaches. Results: On average, for each standard deviation increase in CPF exposure (4.61 pg/g), Full-Scale intelligence quotient (IQ) declined by 1.4% and Working Memory declined by 2.8%. Final covariates included maternal educational level, maternal IQ, and quality of the home environment. We found no significant interactions between CPF and any covariates, including the other chemical exposures measured during the prenatal period (environmental tobacco smoke and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). Conclusions: We report evidence of deficits in Working Memory Index and Full-Scale IQ as a function of prenatal CPF exposure at 7 years of age. These findings are important in light of continued widespread use of CPF in agricultural settings and possible longer-term educational implications of early cognitive deficits.
Generalized Recommendation Platform

Recommendations pervade our online experience. Whether users are shopping for books on Amazon or watching movies on Netflix, many websites rely on good recommendations as a means to improve the user experience and increase user engagement. Creating useful recommendations requires knowledge of recommendation algorithms and the ability to run large chunks of data on a distributed system. While most websites have a large amount of user behavior data, some lack the technical expertise or time to provide the useful recommendations needed by users. A generalized recommendation platform changes that experience. Developers can sign up for our site, upload a data file, and receive recommendations for their users. This is achieved through an item-based collaborative filtering algorithm. The algorithm relies on finding similar items in the user behavior data and is run through Apache Mahout on top of Amazon’s Elastic MapReduce. We’ve also created a Penn course recommendation web app, a proof-of-concept website for our platform, to demonstrate the end-to-end developer experience.