Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Method of identifying individuals using VEP signals and neural network

A method of identifying individuals using visual-evoked-potential (VEP) signals and neural network (NN) is proposed. In the approach,a backpropagation (BP) NN is trained to identify individuals using gamma-band (30-50 Hz) spectral power ratio of VEP signals extracted from 61 electrodes located on the scalp of the brain. The gamma-band spectral-power ratio is computed using a zero-phase Butterworth digital filter and Parseval's time-frequency equivalence theorem. NN classification gives an average of 99.06% across 400 test VEP patterns from 20 individuals using 10-fold cross-validation scheme. This shows promise for the approach to be developed further as a biometric identification system.
Semantic Enrichment of Movement Behavior with Foursquare–A Visual Analytics Approach

In recent years, many approaches have been developed that efficiently and effectively visualize movement data, e.g., by providing suitable aggregation strategies to reduce visual clutter. Analysts can use them to identify distinct movement patterns, such as trajectories with similar direction, form, length, and speed. However, less effort has been spent on finding the semantics behind movements, i.e. why somebody or something is moving. This can be of great value for different applications, such as product usage and consumer analysis, to better understand urban dynamics, and to improve situational awareness. Unfortunately, semantic information often gets lost when data is recorded. Thus, we suggest to enrich trajectory data with POI information using social media services and show how semantic insights can be gained. Furthermore, we show how to handle semantic uncertainties in time and space, which result from noisy, unprecise, and missing data, by introducing a POI decision model in combination with highly interactive visualizations. Finally, we evaluate our approach with two case studies on a large electric scooter data set and test our model on data with known ground truth.
Does Fit Matter? The Impact of Task-Technology Fit and Appropriation on Team Performance in Repeated Tasks

Prior research on technology and team performance concludes that the fit of the technology to tasks influences team performance. It also suggests that the way teams appropriate technology influences performance. This research examines how fit and appropriation (from the Fit Appropriation Model) influence performance over time. Initially, the results show that fit better predicted performance; teams using poor-fitting technology performed worse than teams with better fitting technology. However, over a short time period (two days in this study), this initial fit no longer predicted performance; performance of teams using better fitting technology remained constant while teams using poor-fitting technology innovated and adapted, improving performance. There are two key findings from this study. First, fit can predict team performance soon after technology adoption, but initial assessments of fit are temporary as teams innovate and adapt; thus, our current theoretical models of fitting technology to a task likely will not be useful beyond the first use. Second, teams should understand how to better adapt existing technology and work structures. Because our current theories of task-technology fit failed to predict performance beyond the first use of technology, we believe that this calls for a reconsideration of what fit means for teams using technology.
Removing Time Variation with the Anti-Hebbian Differential Synapse

I describe a local synaptic learning rule that can be used to remove the effects of certain types of systematic temporal variation in the inputs to a unit. According to this rule, changes in synaptic weight result from a conjunction of short-term temporal changes in the inputs and the output. Formally, This is like the differential rule proposed by Klopf (1986) and Kosko (1986), except for a change of sign, which gives it an anti-Hebbian character. By itself this rule is insufficient. A weight conservation condition is needed to prevent the weights from collapsing to zero, and some further constraintimplemented here by a biasing termto select particular sets of weights from the subspace of those which give minimal variation. As an example, I show that this rule will generate center-surround receptive fields that remove temporally varying linear gradients from the inputs.
Small Molecule Inhibitors of the Candida albicans Budded-to-Hyphal Transition Act through Multiple Signaling Pathways

The ability of the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans to interconvert between budded and hyphal growth states, herein termed the budded-to-hyphal transition (BHT), is important for C. albicans development and virulence. The BHT is under the control of multiple cell signaling pathways that respond to external stimuli, including nutrient availability, high temperature, and pH. Previous studies identified 21 small molecules that could inhibit the C. albicans BHT in response to carbon limitation in Spider media. However, the studies herein show that the BHT inhibitors had varying efficacies in other hyphal-inducing media, reflecting their varying abilities to block signaling pathways associated with the different media. Chemical epistasis analyses suggest that most, but not all, of the BHT inhibitors were acting through either the Efg1 or Cph1 signaling pathways. Notably, the BHT inhibitor clozapine, a FDA-approved drug used to treat atypical schizophrenia by inhibiting G-protein-coupled dopamine receptors in the brain, and several of its functional analogs were shown to act at the level of the Gpr1 G-protein-coupled receptor. These studies are the first step in determining the target and mechanism of action of these BHT inhibitors, which may have therapeutic anti-fungal utility in the future.
A 10-bit, 20-MS/s, 35-mW pipeline A/D converter

This paper describes a 10-bit 20-MS/s pipeline A/D converter implemented in 1.2-/spl mu/m CMOS technology which achieves a power dissipation of 35 mW at full speed operation. Circuit techniques used to achieve this level of power dissipation include operation on a 3.3 V power supply, optimum scaling of capacitor values through the pipeline, and digital correction to allow the use of dynamic comparators. Measured performance includes 0.6 LSB of INL, 59.1 dB of SNDR for 100 kHz input at 20 MS/s. At Nyquist sampling (10 MHz input), SNDR is 55.0 dB. <<ETX>>
Radiographic assessment of hip osteoarthritis progression: impact of reading procedures for longitudinal studies

OBJECTIVE To compare radiographic reading procedures and evaluate their impact on sample size in hip osteoarthritis (OA) longitudinal studies. METHODS Pelvic radiographs performed twice, three years apart, in 104 patients with hip OA were read by a single reader using the Kellgren and Lawrence system, joint space narrowing scale, and joint space width (JSW). Reading procedures were (a) films read as single radiographs, (b) films grouped by patient but read in random order, (c) films grouped by patient and chronologically ordered, all with landmarks for JSW measurements, (d) films read as single radiographs, without landmarks for JSW measurements. JSW was measured at the narrowest point with a 0.1 mm graduated magnifying glass. RESULTS More Kellgren and Lawrence or joint space narrowing grades were modified respectively with the single (42% and 37%) than with the paired (32% and 23%) or chronologically ordered (34% and 29%) reading procedures. Variability of JSW progression was principally related to mean progression (88.3%) and landmarks (almost 10%). Standardised response means were −0.71 with the paired reading procedure with landmarks, −0.68 with the single reading procedure with landmarks, −0.65 with the single reading procedure without landmarks. With landmarks, 10% more patients would be needed using single than paired reading. Using single reading, 10% more patients would be needed without landmarks than with landmarks. CONCLUSION Kellgren and Lawrence grading seems to be influenced by the reading procedure, as is joint space narrowing grading, for assessing hip OA. Paired reading procedure with landmarks for JSW should be recommended in longitudinal studies.
Characteristics of Parent-Adolescent Communication

Random sampling by the whole class was used in this study,602 adolescents and their parents in two ordinary middle schools of Lanzhou,Gansu province were selected,and a self-constructed questionnaire was adopted to explore the characteristics of parent-adolescent communication.The results indicated that the self-constructed Questionnaire on Parent-Adolescent Communication had good reliability and validity,which included Adolescents' Communication with Parents Questionnaire and Parents' Communication with Adolescents Questionnaire.Concerning adolescents' communication with parents,girls communicated with parents better than boys did,and the 8~(th) grade students' communication were the worst among four grades.Concerning parents' communication with adolescents,parents communicated better with girls than boys,communicated better with the 7~(th),10~(th) and 11~(th) grade students than the 8th grade students.Compared with fathers,mothers communicated better with children,and the difference showed on the dimensions of Questionnaire on Parent-Adolescent Communication.
A 3D-cellular automata based pseudo-random number generator: student research abstract

Cellular Automata (CA) is used in pseudo-random number generators (PRNG) to produce high-rate random numbers. The randomness of such numbers directly depends upon the CA rules and the number of neighbor cells. The two-dimensional (2D) CA has several limitations such as, finding the best CA rules, boundary cell problems, etc. To address the problems existing in the 2D CA, we propose a random number generator based on 3D cellular automata. The proposed generator is based on rule numbers 43, 85, 170, and 201, and incremental boundary conditions. The rules are randomly changed after each cycle depending on a clock bit mechanism. The output bits are then passed to the Diehard and ENT test suites to test its randomness [1]. The results reveal that the bit stream generated by the proposed scheme passes all the tests present in the test suites.
Microfluidic Generated EGF-Gradients Induce Chemokinesis of Transplantable Retinal Progenitor Cells via the JAK/STAT and PI3Kinase Signaling Pathways

A growing number of studies are evaluating retinal progenitor cell (RPC) transplantation as an approach to repair retinal degeneration and restore visual function. To advance cell-replacement strategies for a practical retinal therapy, it is important to define the molecular and biochemical mechanisms guiding RPC motility. We have analyzed RPC expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and evaluated whether exposure to epidermal growth factor (EGF) can coordinate motogenic activity in vitro. Using Boyden chamber analysis as an initial high-throughput screen, we determined that RPC motility was optimally stimulated by EGF concentrations in the range of 20-400ng/ml, with decreased stimulation at higher concentrations, suggesting concentration-dependence of EGF-induced motility. Using bioinformatics analysis of the EGF ligand in a retina-specific gene network pathway, we predicted a chemotactic function for EGF involving the MAPK and JAK-STAT intracellular signaling pathways. Based on targeted inhibition studies, we show that ligand binding, phosphorylation of EGFR and activation of the intracellular STAT3 and PI3kinase signaling pathways are necessary to drive RPC motility. Using engineered microfluidic devices to generate quantifiable steady-state gradients of EGF coupled with live-cell tracking, we analyzed the dynamics of individual RPC motility. Microfluidic analysis, including center of mass and maximum accumulated distance, revealed that EGF induced motility is chemokinetic with optimal activity observed in response to low concentration gradients. Our combined results show that EGFR expressing RPCs exhibit enhanced chemokinetic motility in the presence of low nanomole levels of EGF. These findings may serve to inform further studies evaluating the extent to which EGFR activity, in response to endogenous ligand, drives motility and migration of RPCs in retinal transplantation paradigms.
Artificial Boundary Conditions for the Numerical Simulation of Unsteady Electromagnetic Waves

A central characteristic feature of an important class of hyperbolic PDEs in odddimension spaces is the presence of lacunae, i.e., sharp aft fronts of the waves, in their solutions. This feature, which is often associated with the Huygens’ principle, is employed to construct accurate non-local artificial boundary conditions (ABCs) for the Maxwell equations. The setup includes the propagation of electromagnetic waves from moving sources over unbounded domains. For the purpose of obtaining a finite numerical approximation the domain is truncated, and the ABCs guarantee that the outer boundary be completely transparent for all the outgoing waves. The lacunae-based approach has earlier been used for the scalar wave equation, as well as for acoustics. In the current paper, we emphasize the key distinctions between those previously studied models and the Maxwell equations of electrodynamics, as they manifest themselves in the context of lacunae-based integration. The extent of temporal nonlocality of the proposed ABCs is fixed and limited, and this is not a result of any approximation, it is rather an immediate implication of the existence of lacunae. The ABCs can be applied to any numerical scheme that is used to integrate the Maxwell equations. They do not require any geometric adaptation, and they guarantee that the accuracy of the boundary treatment will not deteriorate even on long time intervals. The paper presents a number of numerical demonstrations that corroborate the theoretical design features of the boundary conditions.
How Father’s Education and Economic Capital Impact Academic Performance—An Analysis Based on the Mediating Effect and Moderating Effect

Abstract: This paper uses survey data from educational tracking upon graduation from middle schools in Q County, Gansu Province, and explores the mechanism in which the level of father’s education and economic capital affect academic performance. The study finds that the academic performance of male students is significantly higher than that of female students, and household registration, family capital, and school social capital adhere together to impact academic performance. Low economic income affects academic performance, and high economic income does not necessarily facilitate academic performance. School education that pays attention to academic performance has a direct positive impact, and parent-teacher relations, objectified cultural capital, and economic capital have a direct negative impact on academic performance. The level of the father’s education mainly plays a direct role in impacting academic performance. Economic capital indirectly facilitates academic performance through the mediating effect of parents’ educational expectations, educational support, and attention to school education, and objectified cultural capital has a moderating effect on the impact of economic capital on academic performance.
Prune-and-Score: Learning for Greedy Coreference Resolution

We propose a novel search-based approach for greedy coreference resolution, where the mentions are processed in order and added to previous coreference clusters. Our method is distinguished by the use of two functions to make each coreference decision: a pruning function that prunes bad coreference decisions from further consideration, and a scoring function that then selects the best among the remaining decisions. Our framework reduces learning of these functions to rank learning, which helps leverage powerful off-the-shelf rank-learners. We show that our Prune-and-Score approach is superior to using a single scoring function to make both decisions and outperforms several state-of-the-art approaches on multiple benchmark corpora including OntoNotes.
Computing Robust Plans in Continuous Domains

We define the robustness of a sequential plan as the probability that it will execute successfully despite uncertainty in the execution environment. We consider a rich notion of uncertainty over continuous domains that includes stochastic action effects, and changes to state variables due to unpredictable exogenous events. Given a characterization of this uncertainty in terms of probability distributions (e.g., Gaussian) our contributions are two-fold: First, we describe a novel approach to computing the robustness of a plan in the situation calculus, which (a) separates the projection problem from the problem of reasoning about probability, and (b) explicitly reveals the relevance and statistical independence of random variables and events (i.e., conditions that contain random variables). Then, building on this approach, we describe a forward search based planner that generates maximally robust plans, exploiting the revealed structure for speed-up. Preliminary empirical results demonstrate that our approach can realize exponential savings in both time and space compared to the classical sampling approach.
Top Location Anonymization for Geosocial Network Datasets

Geosocial networks such as Foursquare have access to users' location information, friendships, and other potentially privacy sensitive information. In this paper, we show that an attacker with access to a naively-anonymized geosocial network dataset can breach users' privacy by considering location patterns of the target users. We study the problem of anonymizing such a dataset in order to avoid re-identification of a user based on her or her friends' location information. We introduce k-anonymity-based properties for geosocial network datasets, propose appropriate data models and algorithms, and evaluate our approach on both synthetic and real-world datasets.
Child and adolescent psychiatry in Africa : luxury or necessity? : guest editorial

The issue of sub-specialization within a developing world setting has been raised as an issue for developing world psychiatrists. The current editorial poses the question as to whether sub specialists in child and adolescent psychiatry are a luxury or a necessity. In a continent where over 50% of the population are children and adolescents and one in five will have a mental health problem, how appropriate is this question? Yet the question needs to be answered if effective Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) services are to be developed and extended in Africa.
Unhealthy dietary patterns are associated with weight gain during pregnancy among Finnish women

Abstract Objective To study whether the dietary patterns of Finnish pregnant women are associated with their weight gain rate during pregnancy. Design A validated 181-item FFQ was applied retrospectively to assess the diet during the eighth month of pregnancy, and maternal height and maternal weight at first and last antenatal visits were recalled. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, parity and smoking of the pregnant women was obtained by a structured questionnaire and from the Finnish Birth Registry. Principal components analysis was used to identify dietary patterns that described the diet of pregnant women based on their food consumption profile. Setting Finland. Subjects Subjects consisted of 3360 women who had newly delivered in 1997–2002 and whose baby carried human leucocyte antigen-conferred susceptibility to type 1 diabetes in two university hospital regions, Oulu and Tampere, in Finland. Results Out of seven dietary patterns identified, the ‘fast food’ pattern was positively associated (β = 0·010, se = 0·003, P = 0·004) and the ‘alcohol and butter’ pattern was inversely associated (β = –0·010, se = 0·003, P < 0·0001) with weight gain rate (kg/week) during pregnancy after adjusting for potential dietary, perinatal and sociodemographic confounding factors. Both of the dietary pattern associations demonstrated dose dependency. Conclusions Pregnant women should be guided to have a well-planned, balanced, healthy diet during pregnancy in order to avoid rapid gestational weight gain. The association between diet, health and maternal weight gain of the women who consumed alcohol during pregnancy should be studied further.
On subleading contributions to the AdS / CFT trace anomaly

In the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, we perform a direct computation in AdS5 supergravity of the trace anomaly of a d = 4, = 2 SCFT. We find agreement with the field theory result up to next to leading order in the 1/N expansion. In particular, the order N gravitational contribution to the anomaly is obtained from a Riemann tensor squared term in the 7-brane effective action deduced from heterotic - type I duality. We also discuss, in the AdS/CFT context, the order N corrections to the trace anomaly in d = 4, = 4 SCFTs involving SO or Sp gauge groups.
Stress level and depression symptoms in Chinese college students:Moderator effects of weakest link

Objective:To examine the moderating roles of weakest link between the stress level and depression symptoms and to test the cross-cultural applicability of the weakest link hypothesis theory of depression in a large size of samples of college students in China.Methods:Totally 520 students from two universities in Changsha participated in the longitudinal study for half a year,with an interval of 1 month.All participants finished the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale(CESD),Cognitive Style Questionnaire(CSQ),General Social and Academic Hassles Scale(SHS) at Time 1,and questionnaires assessing depression symptoms as well as stress level at each follow-up.Hierarchical lineal modeling(HLM) was used in data analysis.Results:Based on the Abela weakest link screening criteria,60 students(24 males,36 females) had been screened for high-risk of cognitive vulnerability to depression,the detection rate of 11.1%. In the prediction of depressive symptom in the college students' sample,both the main effect of depression symptoms(β=3.72,P0.001),weakest link(β=0.95,P0.001),gender(β=-1.22,P0.01) and the weakest link × stress level interaction on students' depression symptoms(β=0.03,P0.001) were significant.Conclusions:It suggests that in line with a weakest link of cognitive vulnerability to depression-stress framework in Chinese university samples,the association between the stress level and increases in depressive symptoms over time may be moderated by weakest link level.