Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A computational model of affect theory: Simulations of reducer/augmenter and learned helplessness phenomena.

Overview This paper outlines the initial results of an ongoing research effort to build and test a computational model that simulates key components of a theory of mind proposed by psychologist Silvan S. Tomkins in his four-volume series Affect, Imagery, Consciousness (1962, 1963, 1991, 1992). Tomkins’ model of the mind is able to account for an impressive range of motivational phenomena, including the crucial developmental link between cognition and emotion, how conflicting motives are resolved and decisions about moment-to-moment behavior are made, and how individuals can be motivated simultaneously by highly idiosyncratic goals that emerge from experience, as well as the complete array of innate, instinctual drives. To begin testing the explanatory power of Tomkin’s model, key components of his theory have been implemented in computational terms and tested in experimental simulations. In particular, Tomkins’ affect theory, a sub-theory of his overall view of the mind, has been targeted for primary research purposes. Affect theory has been selected as the focus of study because it is the most unique component of Tomkins’ model, and many authors, e.g., Nathanson (1992) and Schore (1994), consider it to be his primary contribution to the understanding of the mind. Affect theory also has the potential to explain how "primary" emotions, as described by Damasio (1994), are generated and can evolve into cognitively generated "secondary" emotions over time. Reducer/augmenter (Larsen & Zarate, 1991) and learned helplessness phenomena (Peterson, Maier, & Seligman, 1993) were selected for simulation purposes. These affective/behavioral phenomena have been repeatedly documented to occur in studies involving living subjects. Moreover, these phenomena are at the opposite ends of the nature/nurture continuum. For reducer/augmenter phenomena, differences in affectively motivated behavior are attributed to innate, constitutional factors. In contrast, learned helplessness effects are attributed to differences in environmental experience. The simulation of these causally diverse affective/behavioral tendencies, therefore, should provide a useful initial test of the range of phenomena for which Tomkins’ theory can account. PASSIO
PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF AUTOMATED FEATURE EXTRACTION TOOLS ON HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGERY

The enormous increase in the volume of remotely sensed data that is being acquired by an ever-growing number of earth observation sensors, led to the situation where the image analysts are at risk to be overwhelmed by the number of images to process. A way to cope with this situation is to use automated feature extraction (AFE) tools to help the image analysts in the extraction of geospatial features, and address specific tasks such as object detection for change detection purposes. However, it is not clear which AFE tools perform better against others, and on what scenarios. This paper presents an assessment of the performance of three AFE tools to extract man-made objects for change detection on high resolution airborne and spaceborne electro-optic imagery: Feature Analyst (Visual Learning Systems Inc.), eCognition (Definiens AG), and Genie Pro (U.S. Los Alamos National Laboratory). These tools all intend to assist the image analysts in extracting relevant image features using dissimilar feature extraction algorithms. Feature Analyst employs machine learning techniques to extract user-defined features; eCognition is an object-oriented classification package using a fuzzy logic scheme; Genie Pro is an evolutionary computation software system assembling image processing tools from a collection of image operators by means of genetic algorithms. The performance of these automated feature extraction software packages in extracting relevant geospatial features on high resolution remotely sensed images is assessed, together with their use for change detection applications.
Measurement based process improvement

Used together, the two relatively young concepts of measurement and process improvement are more than the sum of their parts. Careful measurement helps you draw an objective process model. Thoughtful application of improvement techniques improves your ability to measure quality. Leveraging one with the other can take your organization to new heights. The article shows how software process modeling, tool development, measurement strategies, and other methods are combined to create real change on important software projects. <<ETX>>
(Non-)Abelian-gauged supergravities in nine dimensions

We construct five massive deformations of the unique nine-dimensional N = 2 supergravity, each with two parameters. All these deformations have a higher-dimensional origin via Scherk–Schwarz reduction and correspond to gauged supergravities. The gauge groups we encounter are SO(2), SO(1, 1)+, ℝ, ℝ+ and the two-dimensional non-Abelian Lie group A(1), which consists of scalings and translations in one dimension. We make a systematic search for (non-supersymmetric) de Sitter space solutions. Furthermore, we discuss which of the D = 9 gauged supergravities can be considered as candidate low-energy limits of compactified superstring theory.
Looking Beyond Genres: Identifying Meaningful Semantic Layers from Tags in Online Music Collections

A scheme for identifying the semantic layers of music-related tags is presented. Arguments are provided why the applications of the tags cannot be effectively pursued without a reasonable understanding of their semantic qualities. The identification scheme consists of a set of filters. The first is related with social consensus, user-count ratio, and n-gram properties of tags. The next relies on look-up functions across multiple databases to determine the probable semantic layer of each tag. Examples of the semantic layers with prevalence rates are given based on application of the scheme to a subset of the Million Song Dataset. Finally, a validation of the results was carried out with an independent, smaller hand-annotated dataset, in which high agreement between the identification provided by the scheme and annotations was found.
Combining strong features for registration of hyperspectral and lidar data from field-based platforms

This paper presents an approach to automatically register hyperspectral images with lidar point clouds using a combination of SIFT and SURF feature descriptors. The aim is to generate 3D terrain maps of the environment combining spectral and geometrical information. The datasets are acquired from field-based platforms which, due to the lack of georeferencing, cannot be simply fused and require a registration processing step. In addition, some applications, such as in mining, cannot rely on reliable GPS signal. The proposed method is validated using experimental data acquired from vertical mine walls.
18F-EF5: A New PET Tracer for Imaging Hypoxia in Head and Neck Cancer

The aim of this study was to evaluate 2-(2-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-N-(2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl)-acetamide (EF5) labeled with 18F-fluorine to image hypoxia in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC). Methods: Fifteen patients with HNSCC were studied. Measurement of tumor blood flow was followed by an 18F-EF5 PET/CT scan. On a separate day, 18F-FDG PET/CT was performed to determine the metabolically active tumor volume. In 6 patients, dynamic 18F-EF5 images of the head and neck area were acquired, followed by static images acquired at 1, 2, and 3 h after injection. In the remaining 9 patients, only static images were obtained. 18F-EF5 uptake in tumors was compared with that in neck muscle, and the 18F-EF5 findings were correlated with the 18F-FDG PET/CT studies. Results: A total of 13 primary tumors and 5 lymph node metastases were evaluated for their uptake of 18F-EF5. The median tumor-to-muscle 18F-EF5 uptake ratio (T/M) increased over time and was 1.38 (range, 1.1–3.2) 3 h after tracer injection. The median blood flow in tumors was 36.7 mL/100 g/min (range, 23.3–78.6 mL/100 g/min). Voxel-by-voxel analysis of coregistered blood flow and 18F-EF5 images revealed a distinct pattern, resulting in a T/M of 1.5 at 3 h to be chosen as a cutoff for clinically significant hypoxia. Fourteen of 18 tumors (78%) had subvolumes within the metabolically active tumor volumes with T/M greater than or equal to 1.5. Conclusion: On the basis of these data, the potential of 18F-EF5 to detect hypoxia in HNSCC is encouraging. Further development of 18F-EF5 for eventual targeting of antihypoxia therapies is warranted.
Participatory Design of Touch Gestures for Informational Search on a Tablet Device

This study set out to answer the question: what would a gesture set for conducting an informational search on a multi-touch tablet web browser look like if designed in collaboration with users with limited touch screen experience? In addressing this question, we developed such a user-defined gesture set, based on gestures elicited from participants with little or no experience with touch screen devices. Focusing on 24 specific search-related browser functions, 20 participants were asked, in a lab setting, to experiment with and then suggest a gesture for each of the functions. Data collection included video and audio recordings, think-aloud data, informal interviews and self-evaluation of proposed gestures. A combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed the following: one-handed gestures are preferred over two-handed gestures; users who have mostly been exposed to mouse interaction prefer gestures that correspond to point-and-click actions; completion of a task should be possible with more than one gesture; and complex tasks should allow varying combinations of gestures).
Case studies on the development of wireless sensor network applications using multiple abstraction levels

Model-driven development (MDD) facilitates the development of wireless sensor network (WSN) applications because MDD can deal with models at the abstraction level to the concrete level. In the MDD for WSN applications, the developers model the dataflow at the abstract level and model the designs of a communication and task assignment at the concrete level. In our previous work we proposed a MDD process for WSN applications with three domain specific languages (DSLs). However, we did not sufficiently evaluate the description capabilities of our DSLs. For that reason, we report case studies on real-world applications to prove the feasibility of our approach. Our DSL can be used to describe both the application logic and design decisions concerning the quality of data, which are adopted in target applications. Additionally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the DSLs at multiple abstraction levels.
Robust transmit Wiener filter for time division duplex systems

Errors in channel state information have a significant impact on the performance of linear preceding (transmit filters) in frequency selective MISO communication links. We present a new robust optimization scheme for the design of the robust transmit Wiener filter, which is based on a stochastic error model. This general paradigm achieves an average robustness as it is relevant for physical layer signal processing.
Differential roles of two tandem E2F sites in repression of the human p107 promoter by retinoblastoma and p107 proteins

Although many lines of evidence indicate that the cellular protein p107 is closely related to the retinoblastoma protein, the exact function of the p107 gene and its regulation are presently not known. To investigate the molecular mechanism controlling expression of the human p107 gene, a 5' flanking sequence of this gene was isolated and shown to promote high-level expression of a luciferase reporter gene in cycling human 293 and Saos-2 cells. Sequencing and transcription mapping analyses showed that the human p107 promoter is TATA-less and contains a tandem, direct repeat of E2F-binding sites, with the 3' copy overlapping the major transcription initiation site. Deletion analysis of the p107 promoter showed that a promoter DNA fragment containing only the two E2F sites together with the leader sequence could direct relatively efficient expression in 293 cells. Site-directed mutagenesis of these E2F sites revealed that although both sites were important for p107 promoter activity, mutation on the proximal, initiation site copy of the E2F site showed a stronger effect. The human p107 promoter could be repressed by the retinoblastoma protein and its own gene product. Interestingly, the repression was found to be mediated through the 5' copy of the E2F site. These studies demonstrate for the first time differential roles of two tandem E2F sites in promoter regulation.
Are Assumptions of Well-Known Statistical Techniques Checked, and Why (Not)?

A valid interpretation of most statistical techniques requires that one or more assumptions be met. In published articles, however, little information tends to be reported on whether the data satisfy the assumptions underlying the statistical techniques used. This could be due to self-selection: Only manuscripts with data fulfilling the assumptions are submitted. Another explanation could be that violations of assumptions are rarely checked for in the first place. We studied whether and how 30 researchers checked fictitious data for violations of assumptions in their own working environment. Participants were asked to analyze the data as they would their own data, for which often used and well-known techniques such as the t-procedure, ANOVA and regression (or non-parametric alternatives) were required. It was found that the assumptions of the techniques were rarely checked, and that if they were, it was regularly by means of a statistical test. Interviews afterward revealed a general lack of knowledge about assumptions, the robustness of the techniques with regards to the assumptions, and how (or whether) assumptions should be checked. These data suggest that checking for violations of assumptions is not a well-considered choice, and that the use of statistics can be described as opportunistic.
The bovine mammary gland expresses multiple functional isoforms of serotonin receptors

Recent studies in dairy cows have demonstrated that serotonergic ligands affect milk yield and composition. Correspondingly, serotonin (5-HT) has been demonstrated to be an important local regulator of lactational homeostasis and involution in mouse and human mammary cells. We determined the mRNA expression of bovine 5-HT receptor (HTR) subtypes in bovine mammary tissue (BMT) and used pharmacological agents to evaluate functional activities of 5-HT receptors. The mRNAs for five receptor isoforms (HTR1B, 2A, 2B, 4, and 7) were identified by conventional real-time (RT)-PCR, RT quantitative PCR, and in situ hybridization in BMT. In addition to luminal mammary epithelial cell expression, HTR4 was expressed in myoepithelium, and HTR1B, 2A, and 2B were expressed in small mammary blood vessels. Serotonin suppressed milk protein mRNA expression (α-lactalbumin and β-casein mRNA) in lactogen-treated primary bovine mammary epithelial cell (BMEC) cultures. To probe the functional activities of individual receptors, caspase-3 activity and expression of α-lactalbumin and β-casein were measured. Both SB22489 (1B antagonist) and ritanserin (2A antagonist) increased caspase-3 activity. Expression of α-lactalbumin and β-casein mRNA levels in BMEC were stimulated by low concentrations of SB224289, ritanserin, or pimozide. These results demonstrate that there are multiple 5-HT receptor isoforms in the bovine mammary gland, and point to profound differences between serotonergic systems of the bovine mammary gland and the human and mouse mammary glands. Whereas human and mouse mammary epithelial cells express predominately the protein for the 5-HT7 receptor, cow mammary epithelium expresses multiple receptors that have overlapping, but not identical, functional activities.
Pharmacological Isolation of Cognitive Components Influencing the Pupillary Light Reflex

Cognitive operations can be detected by reduction of the pupillary light response. Neurophysiological pathways mediating this reduction have not been distinguished. We utilized selective blockade of pupillary sphincter or dilator muscles to isolate parasympathetic or sympathetic activity during cognition, without modifying central processes. Pupil diameter was measured during the light reaction in 29 normal adults under three processing levels: No Task, during an easy task (Add 1), or a difficult task (Subtract 7). At three separate sessions, the pupil was treated with placebo, tropicamide (blocking the muscarinic sphincter receptor), or dapiprazole (blocking the adrenergic dilator receptor). With placebo, pupil diameter increased with increasing task difficulty. The light reaction was reduced only in the Subtract 7 condition. Dapiprazole (which decreased overall diameter) showed similar task-related changes in diameter and light reflex as for placebo. Following tropicamide (which increased overall diameter), there was a further increase in diameter only in the difficult task. Findings suggest two separate inhibitory components at the parasympathetic oculomotor center. Changes in baseline diameter are likely related to reticular activation. Inhibition of the light reaction in the difficult task is likely associated with cortical afferents. Sustained sympathetic activity also was present during the difficult task.
Abnormal events detection using unsupervised One-Class SVM - Application to audio surveillance and evaluation -

This paper proposes an unsupervised method for real time detection of abnormal events in the context of audio surveillance. Based on training a One-Class Support Vector Machine (OC-SVM) to model the distribution of the normality (ambience), we propose to construct sets of decision functions. This modification allows controlling the trade-off between false-alarm and miss probabilities without modifying the trained OC-SVM that best capture the ambience boundaries, or its hyperparameters. Then we present an adaptive online scheme of temporal integration of the decision function output in order to increase performance and robustness. We also introduce a framework to generate databases based on real signals for the evaluation of audio surveillance systems. Finally, we present the performances obtained on the generated database.
A GRASP-based approach for the Pure Parsimony Haplotype Inference problem

The availability and study of haplotype data is of considerable interest to a wide range of areas including general health care, personalized medicine, and pharmacogenetics. The inner workings of contemporary sequencing techniques however imply that genotype data is generated from a chromosome rather than haplotype data. The reconstruction of the latter from this kind of data lies at the heart of the well studied Pure Parsimony Haplotype Inference problem (PPHI). In this paper, we present a proof of concept that a GRASP-based approach for solving PPHI has the potential of yielding an attractive tool that complements existing approaches. The usage of this strategy for solving PPHI is novel. To assess its suitability, we have implemented it in basic form in the novel and freely available HAPLOGRASP approach which we assessed in terms of simulated and real data. Our findings are highly encouraging.
Petri Net Reachability Graphs: Decidability Status of FO Properties

We investigate the decidability and complexity status of model-checking problems on unlabelled reachability graphs of Petri nets by considering first-order, modal and pattern-based languages without labels on transitions or atomic propositions on markings. We consider several parameters to separate decidable problems from undecidable ones. Not only are we able to provide precise borders and a systematic analysis, but we also demonstrate the robustness of our proof techniques.
An EAP ID-based authentication method for wireless networks

This paper proposes an ID-Based authentication method for the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), as an alternative to methods relying on PKI (Public Key Infrastructure), to provide nodes with private and public keys. It proposes to derive the public key from the node's identity directly. As such, there is no need for deployment of CA (Certification Authority) and the burdensome management of certificates is removed. The presented authentication method is resistant to the Key Escrow Attack. In addition, the results from implementation tests are given and prove how efficient the ID-Based cryptography might be for use in wireless networks.
International Monetary Policy Transmission Under a Currency Board: An Empirical Investigation

By using a block-exogenous vector autoregressive model and the data of a small open economy under a currency board, this paper gains several advantages in examining the empirical relevance of open economy macroeconomic theories regarding international monetary policy transmission. The results support that the interest rate channel is more significant than the trade balance channel. In response to a U.S. contractionary monetary shock, the interest rate of the small economy overshoots in the short run and deflates the economy so excessively that domestic currency depreciates and net exports revive, and that, in turn, eases the negative impact on domestic output.
On the effects of student interest, self-efficacy, and perceptions of the instructor on flow, satisfaction, and learning outcomes

ABSTRACT This paper examines the relationships between student interest, self-efficacy, and perceptions of the instructor on a set of learning outcomes that include, but are broader than, traditional measures of student learning. Consistent with the focus of positive psychology, the study focuses not only on knowledge gains but also on the flow experience and student satisfaction as important outcomes. Results show learning outcomes are affected by student interest, self-efficacy, and perceptions of the instructor.
The Usefulness of Translation in Foreign Language Learning: Students’ Attitudes

Several scholars have argued that translation is not a useful tool when acquiring a second or foreign language; since it provides a simplistic one-to-one relationship between the native and the foreign language, it can cause interference between them, and it is an artificial exercise that has nothing to do in a communicative approach to language teaching. Recent studies, however, show that, far from being useless, translation can be a great aid to foreign language learning. The aim of the present paper is twofold: (1) to summarize and assess the arguments that encourage the use of translation in the foreign language classroom, supporting the integration of several forms of translating; and (2) to present the results of a survey that focused on students’ perceptions and responses towards translation tasks and their effectiveness in foreign language acquisition. Results show that students’ attitudes were surprisingly positive for several reasons: translation is one of their preferred language learning tasks, it is motivating, it facilitates a deeper understanding of the form and content of the source language text, it increases learners’ awareness of the differences between both linguistic systems, it allows them to re-express their thoughts faster and easier, and it helps them acquire linguistic and cultural knowledge.