Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visual and Auditory Coding Confusability in Students With and Without Learning Disabilities

The nature of visual and auditory coding processes in students with learning disabilities (SLDs) and student controls (SCs) was examined with a letter-matching task on four types of successively presented letter pairs: identical (A, A), visually confusable (P, R), auditorily confusable (F, S), and neither visually nor auditorily confusable (H, T). Two delay intervals (0 and 2 seconds) were used between the presentation of the first and second letters. Analysis of decision latencies on the nonidentical letter pair trials revealed that with initial exposure to the task, the SLDs responded more slowly than SCs, but their general confusability patterns (visual and auditory) were similar. With additional practice, overall decision latencies were comparable for the two groups, while confusability differences emerged: SCs showed maximal visual confusability at a 0-second delay and maximal auditory confusability at a 2-second delay, while SLDs did not. Evidently, SLDs make less extensive use of visual and auditory coding processes compared to SCs.
A Comparison of Web Site Adoption in Small and Large Portuguese Firms

This study compares the impact of different Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) factors on the web site adoption decision in small and large firms. A survey that was undertaken by the National Institute of Statistics on the use of Information Technologies (IT) by firms in Portugal was used as the empirical basis for this study. We found significantly differences in the factors that determined web site adoption decision in small and large firms. While large firms are mainly influenced by organizational and environmental factors, small firms are also concerned about the technological context. Moreover, the results of our study suggested that, for Portuguese firms, the only factor that is equally important as web site facilitator is competitive pressure.
Unsupervised Feature Selection with Adaptive Structure Learning

The problem of feature selection has raised considerable interests in the past decade. Traditional unsupervised methods select the features which can faithfully preserve the intrinsic structures of data, where the intrinsic structures are estimated using all the input features of data. However, the estimated intrinsic structures are unreliable/inaccurate when the redundant and noisy features are not removed. Therefore, we face a dilemma here: one need the true structures of data to identify the informative features, and one need the informative features to accurately estimate the true structures of data. To address this, we propose a unified learning framework which performs structure learning and feature selection simultaneously. The structures are adaptively learned from the results of feature selection, and the informative features are reselected to preserve the refined structures of data. By leveraging the interactions between these two essential tasks, we are able to capture accurate structures and select more informative features. Experimental results on many benchmark data sets demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms many state of the art unsupervised feature selection methods.
Betaine deficiency in maize : complementation tests and metabolic basis.

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a betaine-accumulating species, but certain maize genotypes lack betaine almost completely; a single recessive gene has been implicated as the cause of this deficiency (D Rhodes, PJ Rich [1988] Plant Physiol 88: 102-108). This study was undertaken to determine whether betaine deficiency in diverse maize germplasm is conditioned by the same genetic locus, and to define the biochemical lesion(s) involved. Complementation tests indicated that all 13 deficient genotypes tested shared a common locus. One maize population (P77) was found to be segregating for betaine deficiency, and true breeding individuals were used to produce related lines with and without betaine. Leaf tissue of both betaine-positive and betaine-deficient lines readily converted supplied betaine aldehyde to betaine, but only the betaine-containing line was able to oxidize supplied choline to betaine. This locates the lesion in betaine-deficient plants at the choline --> betaine aldehyde step of betaine synthesis. Consistent with this location, betaine-deficient plants were shown to have no detectable endogenous pool of betaine aldehyde.
Motor Control System for a Quadruped Robot

Difficulty: The motor control system in humans and animals is not completely understood. It is not clear what the functions of each of the organs used are and how the parts interact with each other. Therefore, it is difficult to try to implement an animal-like motor control system. Additionally, the actuators that the humans and animals use are completely different from the ones used by robots. That makes the problem more difficult.
A programming language independent framework for metrics-based software evolution and analysis

Knowledge about different aspects of software quality during software evolution can be valuable information for developers and project managers. It helps to reduce the number of defects and improves the internal structure of software. However, determining software’s quality and structure in heterogeneous systems is a difficult task. In this paper, a programming language independent framework for evaluating software metrics and analyzing software structure during software development and its evolution will be presented. The framework consists of the SMIILE tool for calculation of software metrics, extended with an analysis of software structure. The data are stored in a central repository via enriched Concrete Syntax Tree (eCST) for universal source code representation. The framework is demonstrated in a case study. The development of such a framework is a step forward to consistent support for software evolution by providing a change analysis and quality control. The significance of this consistency is growing today, when software projects are more complex, consisting of components developed in diverse programming languages. [Acknowledgments. Work of the second and third author is partially supported by the Serbian Ministry of Science and Technological Development through project no. OI174023 ”Intelligent Techniques and Their Integration into Wide-Spectrum Decision Support”. Bilateral project between Slovenian Research Agency and Serbian Ministry of Science and Technological Development (Grant BI-SR/10-11-027) enabled the exchange of visits and ideas between authors of this paper and their institutions. ]
Disrupting the Heteronormative Subjectivities of Christian Pre-Service Teachers: A Deweyan Prolegomenon

In this article, the authors draw on the work of John Dewey and his notions of transactional realism and habits to inform their analysis of the heteronormative subjectivities of pre-service teachers. The authors depict the dynamics of heteronormative attitudes among pre-service teachers and highlight the ways heterosexist beliefs interact with teachers' professional, moral, and religious identity. Through these depictions, the authors uncover certain "hitches" or contradictions in their subjectivities that teachers must negotiate. These hitches should be points of departure for teacher educators in getting teachers to explore and renegotiate their heteronormative positions.
Challenges and barriers in implementing e-participation tools. One year of experience from implementing Gov2demoss in 64 municipalities in Spain

ICT tools are empowering citizens' ability to influence governance by making their voices heard. Participatory tools have become standard e-participation features for enabling citizens and civil society organisations to influence policy and to participate more substantively in advocacy. Although such initiatives are implemented with enthusiasm, we argue that local authorities need to decide which tools to use in which contexts and how to combine those tools to enable inclusive engagement. The overall objective of this paper is to present challenges and barriers in implementing Gov2demoss e-participation platform in 64 municipalities in Catalonia in the framework of the Consensus project.
Automatic Generation and Ranking of Questions for Critical Review

Critical review skill is one important aspect of academic writing. Generic trigger questions have been widely used to support this activity. When students have a concrete topic in mind, trigger questions are less effective if they are too general. This article presents a learning-to-rank based system which automatically generates specific trigger questions from citations for critical review support. The performance of the proposed question ranking models was evaluated and the quality of generated questions is reported. Experimental results showed an accuracy of 75.8% on the top 25% ranked questions. These top ranked questions are as useful for selfreflection as questions generated by human tutors and supervisors. A qualitative analysis was also conducted using an information seeking question taxonomy in order to further analyze the questions generated by humans. The analysis revealed that explanation and association questions are the most frequent question types and that the explanation questions are considered the most valuables by student writers.
High levels of fatty acids increase contractile function of neonatal rabbit hearts during reperfusion following ischemia.

In the neonatal heart the transition from using carbohydrates to using fatty acids has not fully matured and oxidative metabolism/ATP generation may be limiting contractile function after ischemia. This study tested the hypothesis that increasing fatty acid availability increases recovery of left ventricular (LV) work by increasing palmitate oxidation, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle activity, and ATP generation. Isolated working hearts from 7-day-old rabbits were perfused with Krebs solution containing low (0.4 mM) or high (2.4 mM) palmitate and 5.5 mM glucose. Hearts were subjected to 35-min global ischemia before 40-min reperfusion, and rates of glycolysis, glucose oxidation, and palmitate oxidation were assessed. LV work was similar before ischemia but was greater during reperfusion in hearts perfused with 2.4 mM palmitate compared with hearts perfused with 0.4 mM palmitate [6.98 +/- 0.14 (n = 15) vs. 3.01 +/- 0.23 (n = 16) mJ.beat(-1). g dry wt(-1); P < 0.05]. This was accompanied by increased LV energy expenditure during reperfusion [35.98 +/- 0.16 (n = 8) vs. 19.92 +/- 0.18 (n = 6) mJ.beat(-1). g dry wt(-1); P < 0.05]. During reperfusion the rates of palmitate oxidation [237.5 +/- 28.10 (n = 7) vs. 86.0 +/- 9.7 (n = 6) nmol.g dry wt(-1). min(-1); P < 0.05], total TCA cycle activity [2.65 +/- 0.39 (n = 7) vs. 1.36 +/- 0.14 (n = 6) micromol acetyl-CoA.g dry wt(-1). min(-1); P < 0.05], and ATP generation attributable to palmitate oxidation [26.6 +/- 3.1 (n = 7) vs. 12.6 +/- 1.7 (n = 6) micromol.g dry wt(-1). min(-1); P < 0.05] were greater in hearts perfused with 2.4 mM palmitate. These data indicate that the neonatal heart has decreased energy reserve, and, in contrast to the mature heart, increasing availability of fatty acid substrate increases energy production and improves recovery of function after ischemia.
Education of adult children and mortality of their elderly parents in Taiwan

In societies in which families are highly integrated, the education of family members may be linked to survival. Such may be the case in Taiwan, where there are large gaps in levels of education across generations and high levels of resource transfers between family members. This study employs 14 years of longitudinal data from Taiwan to examine the combined effects of the education of older adults and their adult children on the mortality outcomes of older adults. We use nested Gompertz hazard models to evaluate the importance of the education of an older adult and his or her highest-educated child after controlling for socioeconomic, demographic, and health characteristics at baseline. To gain further insight, we fit additional models based on the sample stratified by whether older adults report serious diseases at baseline. The results indicate that the educational levels of both older adults and children are associated with older adult mortality, but children’s education appears more important when we examine the mortality of only those older adults who already report a serious disease. This finding suggests that there may be different roles for education in the onset versus the progression of a health problem that may lead to death.
RASA1 regulates the function of lymphatic vessel valves in mice

Capillary malformation–arteriovenous malformation (CM-AVM) is a blood and lymphatic vessel (LV) disorder that is caused by inherited inactivating mutations of the RASA1 gene, which encodes p120 RasGAP (RASA1), a negative regulator of the Ras small GTP-binding protein. How RASA1 mutations lead to the LV leakage defects that occur in CM-AVM is not understood. Here, we report that disruption of the Rasa1 gene in adult mice resulted in loss of LV endothelial cells (LECs) specifically from the leaflets of intraluminal valves in collecting LVs. As a result, valves were unable to prevent fluid backflow and the vessels were ineffective pumps. Furthermore, disruption of Rasa1 in midgestation resulted in LEC apoptosis in developing LV valves and consequently failed LV valvulogenesis. Similar phenotypes were observed in induced RASA1-deficient adult mice and embryos expressing a catalytically inactive RASA1R780Q mutation. Thus, RASA1 catalytic activity is essential for the function and development of LV valves. These data provide a partial explanation for LV leakage defects and potentially other LV abnormalities observed in CM-AVM.
Discrete element numerical simulation of crack evolution in multi-coal seam mining

Based on characteristic of the associated mining of multi-coal seam and the engineering geological characteristics of overburden, through establishing a discrete element numerical simulation model by using type of UDEC, the overburden failure mechanism induced by multi-coal seam mining was analyzed. By employing fractal theory, the evolution of the cracks in the overburden strata, which were obtained from discrete element numerical calculation, caused by multi-coal seam mining was analyzed. The stress distribution of multi-coal seam mining has been analyzed, the stress concentrated location are at the roof, bottom and surround rock. Stress concentrated maximum are on the coal wall lines, the bottom stress tend to transfer into the coal pillar. The development height of caving zone and water flowing fractured zone of multi-coal seam mining were calculated by use of the stress verification method. They were 32m and 81.5m respectively. The results of evolution law of fractal crack network show that the opening ratio of the cracks and development height increased in the overburden with the increase of the seam mining layer number. Increasing of the mining width, the fractal dimensions of fractal crack network increase generally. From our investigation it can be concluded that there exists the possibility of water and sand inflow during mining operations; therefore some measures to prevent and control water flow should be used, and mining thickness should be locally strictly limited.
Paths to Success in the College Classroom

Abstract This study explored the roles that knowledge, motivational variables, and approaches to study play in academic success. Multiple measures were taken from studies in a large college lecture class ( N = 104) on the following major classes of background variables: (a) general ability, (b) domain knowledge, and (c) self-efficacy. These were supplemented by (d) measures differentiating among the students′ study approaches and (e) a sample of notes students took during a class lecture and were then related to a measure of student achievement in the class. A path model was proposed and tested, providing a basis for beginning to understand how the approaches to study that students select may mediate between the knowledge they have, the beliefs they hold, and the achievement they finally realize.
Efficient Thompson Sampling for Online Matrix-Factorization Recommendation

Matrix factorization (MF) collaborative filtering is an effective and widely used method in recommendation systems. However, the problem of finding an optimal trade-off between exploration and exploitation (otherwise known as the bandit problem), a crucial problem in collaborative filtering from cold-start, has not been previously addressed. In this paper, we present a novel algorithm for online MF recommendation that automatically combines finding the most relevant items with exploring new or less-recommended items. Our approach, called Particle Thompson sampling for MF (PTS), is based on the general Thompson sampling framework, but augmented with a novel efficient online Bayesian probabilistic matrix factorization method based on the Rao-Blackwellized particle filter. Extensive experiments in collaborative filtering using several real-world datasets demonstrate that PTS significantly outperforms the current state-of-the-arts.
USENIX Association Proceedings of MobiSys 2003 : The First International Conference on Mobile Systems , Applications , and Services

In this paper, we present a middleware architecture for coordination services in sensor networks that facilitates interaction between groups of sensors which monitor different environmental events. It sits on top of the native routing infrastructure and exports the abstraction of mobile communication endpoints maintained at the locations of such events. A single logical destination is created and maintained for every environmental event of interest. Such destinations are uniquely labeled and can be used for communication by application-level algorithms for coordination and sensory data management between the different event locales. For example, they may facilitate coordination, in a distributed intrusion scenario, among nodes in the vicinity
Age and Employment

Abstract. This thematic plenary paper reviews the changing relationship between age and employment. The important role of the labour market in defining the onset of ‘;old age’ in both developed and underdeveloped societies is emphasised at the start and taken for granted in the subsequent analysis. The first and main section of the paper examines the changing relationship between age and employment and three distinct phases are identified in the post‐second world war period. The decline in the age of exit from gainful employment is of great importance in all advanced industrial societies. The second section of the paper focuses on the role of employers in determining the inclusion and exclusion of ageing workers ‐ an issue that has only recently begun to interest researchers in social gerontology. Age discrimination is high on this new research agenda. Brief reference is made to two recent research projects, in Europe and Canada, which have undertaken case studies of employer practices. Despite the development of greater age awareness on the part of employers, the continuation of disadvantage among older workers is emphasised and the ‘;gendered ageism’ experienced by older women is also highlighted. The final key section of the paper argues for a deconstruction of age at the workplace ‐ the replacement of remedial action to combat age barriers with a preventive strategy aimed at avoiding their occurrence.
Research Paper No . 2005 / 37 The Relationship between Income Inequality , Poverty , and Globalization Almas Heshmati * June 2005

This paper introduces two composite indices of globalization. The first is based on the Kearney/Foreign Policy magazine and the second is obtained from principal component analysis. They indicate the level of globalization and show how globalization has developed over time for different countries. The indices are composed of four components: economic integration, personal contact, technology and political engagement, each generated from a number of indicators. A breakdown of the index into major components provides possibilities to identify the sources of globalization at the country level and associate it with economic policy measures. The empirical results show that a low rank in the globalization process is due, in addition to involvement in conflicts, to economic and technology factors with limited possibility for the developing countries to affect. The high ranked developed countries share similar patterns in distribution of various components. The indices were also used in a regression analysis to study the causal relationships between income inequality, poverty and globalization. The results show evidence of a weak and negative relationship between globalization and income inequality and poverty.
Distributed Network Analysis Using TOPAS and Wireshark

Distributed network analysis deals with the inspection of traffic observed at various locations in the network. The conventional approach is to deploy a full-fledged network analyzer at every observation point, which allows exhaustive examinations, but at the same time is a very costly solution. In this paper, we present an alternative approach using packet data exported by PSAMP and Flexible Netflow devices, such as routers, switches, and monitoring probes. Exported packet records are received by the real-time network analysis framework TOPAS and examined by the open-source network analyzer Wireshark. Monitoring devices are configured with a Monitor Manager in order to export only data needed to achieve the analysis goal. Apart from an architectural description, this paper contains the results of experimental performance evaluations and a discussion on the advantages and limitations of our approach.
Mining User Contextual Preferences

User preferences play an important role in database query personalization since they can be used for sorting and selecting the objects which most fulfill the user wishes. In most situations user preferences are not static and may vary according to a multitude of user contexts. Automatic tools for extracting contextual preferences without bothering the user are desirable. In this article, we propose CPrefMiner, a mining technique for mining user contextual preferences. We argue that contextual preferences can be naturally expressed by a Bayesian Preference Network (BPN). The method has been evaluated in a series of experiments executed on synthetic and real-world datasets and proved to be efficient to discover user contextual preferences.