Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Equivalence Relations, Invariants, and Normal Forms

Foran equivalence relationE on thewords insome finite alphabet,we consider the recognition problem (decide whether two words are equivalent), the invariant problem (calculate a function constant on precisely the equivalence classes), the normal form problem (calculate a particular member of an equivalence class, given an arbitrary member) and the first member problem (calculate the first member of an equivalence class, given an arbitrary member). A solution for any of these problems yields solutions for all earlier ones in the list. We show that, for polynomial time recognizable E, the first member problem is always in the class Az (solvable in polynomial time with an oracle for an NP set) and can be complete for this class even when the normal form problem is solvable in polynomial time. To distinguish between the other problems in the list, we construct an E whose invariant problem is not solvable in polynomial time with an oracle for E (although the first member problem is in NP z fqco-NPZ), and we construct an E whose normal form problem is not solvable in polynomial time with an oracle for a certain solution of its invariant problem.
Topologically-robust 3D shape matching based on diffusion geometry and seed growing

3D Shape matching is an important problem in computer vision. One of the major difficulties in finding dense correspondences between 3D shapes is related to the topological discrepancies that often arise due to complex kinematic motions. In this paper we propose a shape matching method that is robust to such changes in topology. The algorithm starts from a sparse set of seed matches and outputs dense matching. We propose to use a shape descriptor based on properties of the heat-kernel and which provides an intrinsic scale-space representation. This descriptor incorporates (i) heat-flow from already matched points and (ii) self diffusion. At small scales the descriptor behaves locally and hence it is robust to global changes in topology. Therefore, it can be used to build a vertex-to-vertex matching score conditioned by an initial correspondence set. This score is then used to iteratively add new correspondences based on a novel seed-growing method that iteratively propagates the seed correspondences to nearby vertices. The matching is farther densified via an EM-like method that explores the congruency between the two shape embeddings. Our method is compared with two recently proposed algorithms and we show that we can deal with substantial topological differences between the two shapes.
Icon Types, Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivations and Behavioral Intention of Use for Semi-literate Users

Different types of icons can trigger different amount of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to semi-literate users. The different motivational variables are also expected to have different amount of effect on the behavioral intention of the use of such users. Our study approaches these issues from two theoretical perspectives. Based on the theory of metaphor, we argue that an interface which comprises of metaphoric icons can benefit semi-literate users by significantly effecting users’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. From ‘Motivational’ theory perspective, our research attempts to determine the capacity of four extrinsic and intrinsic motivational variables in predicting the behavioral intention of using a new mobile application by semi-literate users. Our results confirm the superiority of metaphoric icon set over idiomatic icon set for both extrinsic and intrinsic motivational aspects. The most surprising outcome of our study is ‘enjoyment’ becoming the sole significant contributor of ‘behavioral intention of use’ for semiliterate users.
Economic optimisation of wildfire intervention activities.

We describe how two important tools of wildfire management, wildfire prevention education and prescribed fire for fuels management, can be coordinated to minimise the combination of management costs and expected societal losses resulting from wildland fire. We present a long-run model that accounts for the dynamics of wildfire, the effects of fuels management on wildfire ignition risk and area burned, and the effects of wildfire prevention education on the ignition risk of human-caused, unintentional wildfires. Based on wildfire management activities in Florida from 2002 to 2007, we find that although wildfire prevention education and prescribed fire have different effects on timing and types of fires, the optimal solution is to increase both interventions. Prescribed fire affects whole landscapes and therefore reduces losses from all wildfire types (including lightning), whereas wildfire prevention education reduces only human-caused ignitions. However, prescribed fire offers a longer-term solution with little short-term flexibility. Wildfire prevention education programs, by comparison, are more flexible, both in time and space, and can respond to unexpected outbreaks, but with limited mitigation longevity. Only when used together in a coordinated effort do we find the costs and losses from unintentional wildfires are minimised.
Strategic Emotional Intelligence of Punjabi Adolescents

Abstract The study was conducted on 200 female adolescents (17–18 years), studying in schools affiliated to CBSE of Ludhiana city, Punjab. The socio-economic-status (SES) of the respondents was assessed by administering a standardized socioeconomic-scale – urban by Shrivastava (1991) and MSCEIT (Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, 2000) was used to assess strategic emotional intelligence. Results revealed that majority (86%) of the respondents exhibited high performance level for understanding emotion and remaining were almost equally distributed over the next two levels i.e. competent and consider developing. For managing emotions distribution of respondents over the three levels was equally distributed. Similar distribution was observed for strategic emotional intelligence. Further high performance for understanding emotions does not guarantee high performance for managing emotions high performance for both understanding and managing emotions makes an individual high performer for strategic emotional intelligence.
BattleView: A Multimodal HCI Research Application

To demonstrate some of our research topics in Human Computer Interaction (HCI), we employ two modes of natural human-computer interaction to control a virtual environment. By using speech and gesture recognition, we outline the control of a virtual environment research testbed (BattleView) without the need for traditional virtual reality interfaces such a wand, mouse, or keyboard. The use of features from both speech and gesture creates a unique interface where different modalities complement each other in a more “human” communication style.
Clustering of Electricity Consumption Behavior Dynamics Toward Big Data Applications

In a competitive retail market, large volumes of smart meter data provide opportunities for load serving entities to enhance their knowledge of customers' electricity consumption behaviors via load profiling. Instead of focusing on the shape of the load curves, this paper proposes a novel approach for clustering of electricity consumption behavior dynamics, where “dynamics” refer to transitions and relations between consumption behaviors, or rather consumption levels, in adjacent periods. First, for each individual customer, symbolic aggregate approximation is performed to reduce the scale of the data set, and time-based Markov model is applied to model the dynamic of electricity consumption, transforming the large data set of load curves to several state transition matrixes. Second, a clustering technique by fast search and find of density peaks (CFSFDP) is primarily carried out to obtain the typical dynamics of consumption behavior, with the difference between any two consumption patterns measured by the Kullback-Liebler distance, and to classify the customers into several clusters. To tackle the challenges of big data, the CFSFDP technique is integrated into a divide-and-conquer approach toward big data applications. A numerical case verifies the effectiveness of the proposed models and approaches.
CanLeft-HandednessbeSwitched?InsightsfromanEarly SwitchofHandwriting

“Converted” left-handers are innately left-handed individuals forced as children to write with the right nondominant hand. We asked how a left-to-right handwriting switch shapes cortical sensorimotor representations of finger movements. In 16 adult converted lefthandersandage-matchedgroupsof16consistentright-handersand16left-handers,westudiedmovement-relatedneuronalactivitywith functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants performed simple unimanual and bimanual movements with right and left index fingers. In converted left-handers, movement-related activity in the primary sensorimotor hand area (SM1) and caudal dorsal premotorcortex(PMd)ofthenondominantlefthemispherecorrelatedwiththeleft-to-rightshiftinhandedness.Themoreright-handed convertedleft-handershadbecome,thegreaterthesensorimotoractivationintheseareas.Between-groupcomparisonsshowedthatthe switchfromlefttorighthandalsoreinforcedmovementrepresentationsinthedominantrighthemisphere.Inconvertedleft-handers,the rightinferiorparietalcortexandlateralPMdweremoreactiverelativetoconsistentrightorleft-handersinallmotortasks.Theseresults suggesttwodistinctneuronalcorrelatesofhandednessinhumansensorimotorcortex.Althoughthoseinexecutivesensorimotorcortex (i.e., SM1 and adjacent PMd) depend on the hand used throughout life, those in higher-order sensorimotor areas (i.e., inferior parietal cortexandrostrolateralPMd)areinvariantandthuscannotbeswitchedtothenondominanthemispherebyeducationaltraining.
The Phospholipid:Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase Lro1 Is Responsible for Hepatitis C Virus Core-Induced Lipid Droplet Formation in a Yeast Model System

Chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus frequently induces steatosis, which is a significant risk factor for liver pathogenesis. Steatosis is characterized by the accumulation of lipid droplets in hepatocytes. The structural protein core of the virus induces lipid droplet formation and localizes on the surface of the lipid droplets. However, the precise molecular mechanisms for the core-induced formation of lipid droplets remain elusive. Recently, we showed that the expression of the core protein in yeast as a model system could induce lipid droplet formation. In this study, we probed the cellular factors responsible for the formation of core-induced lipid-droplets in yeast cells. We demonstrated that one of the enzymes responsible for triglyceride synthesis, a phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (Lro1), is required for the core-induced lipid droplet formation. While core proteins inhibit Lro1 degradation and alter Lro1 localization, the characteristic localization of Lro1 adjacent to the lipid droplets appeared to be responsible for the core-induced lipid droplet formation. RNA virus genomes have evolved using high mutation rates to maintain their ability to replicate. Our observations suggest a functional relationship between the core protein with hepatocytes and yeast cells. The possible interactions between core proteins and the endoplasmic reticulum membrane affect the mobilization of specific proteins.
Structural analyses at pseudo atomic resolution of Chikungunya virus and antibodies show mechanisms of neutralization

A 5.3 Å resolution, cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) map of Chikungunya virus-like particles (VLPs) has been interpreted using the previously published crystal structure of the Chikungunya E1-E2 glycoprotein heterodimer. The heterodimer structure was divided into domains to obtain a good fit to the cryoEM density. Differences in the T = 4 quasi-equivalent heterodimer components show their adaptation to different environments. The spikes on the icosahedral 3-fold axes and those in general positions are significantly different, possibly representing different phases during initial generation of fusogenic E1 trimers. CryoEM maps of neutralizing Fab fragments complexed with VLPs have been interpreted using the crystal structures of the Fab fragments and the VLP structure. Based on these analyses the CHK-152 antibody was shown to stabilize the viral surface, hindering the exposure of the fusion-loop, likely neutralizing infection by blocking fusion. The CHK-9, m10 and m242 antibodies surround the receptor-attachment site, probably inhibiting infection by blocking cell attachment. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.00435. 001
Characteristics of Students Who Enroll in Summer Session

Participation in summer session has benefits for students including improved retention and degree completion and increased contact with faculty (Adelman, 2006; DiGregorio, 1998). Just as some characteristics of students limit their access to participate in higher education in general, participation in summer session may also be affected by certain student characteristics. This study used a nationally representative sample to explore how undergraduate students who enroll in summer session may differ from undergraduate students who do not enroll in summer session in a variety of financial, geographic, academic, programmatic and cultural/social/physical characteristics historically associated with access to higher education. Significant differences between summer enrolled and not enrolled students were found in a number of instances. Some characteristics that are negatively associated with enrollment, persistence and attainment in higher education were positively associated with summer enrollment. A regression analysis revealed that the combined predictive value of student characteristics accounts for only a small portion of the overall decision to enroll in the summer term.
Arterially directed therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE Arterially directed therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma are used for patients who are not candidates for surgery or ablation and for those who need a bridge or down-staging to liver transplantation. These therapies seem to prolong the overall survival when compared with supportive care. CONCLUSION Chemoembolization, particle embolization, drug-eluting beads, and radioembolization have been used for locoregional control. This review discusses patient selection, techniques, safety, clinical outcomes, and imaging findings related to these therapies.
Depletion of Nuclear Poly(A) Binding Protein PABPN1 Produces a Compensatory Response by Cytoplasmic PABP4 and PABP5 in Cultured Human Cells

Background In vertebrates, poly(A) binding protein (PABP) is known to exist in five different isoforms. PABPs are primarily cytosolic with the exception of the nuclear PABP (PABPN1), which is located in the nucleus. Within the nucleus, PABPN1 is believed to bind to the poly(A) tail of nascent mRNA and along with cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (CPSF) define the length of the newly synthesized poly(A) tail. Methodology/Principal Findings The cellular role of PABP1 has been extensively studied over the years; however, the function of other PABPs remains poorly defined. In order to understand the role of PABPN1 in cellular mRNA metabolism and it’s interrelation with other PABPs, we depleted PABPN1 using RNAi in HeLa and HEK293 cells. Our results show that PABPN1 depletion did not have any effect on the poly(A) tail length, nuclear export of mRNA, mRNA translation, and transcription. Rather, PABPN1 depletion resulted in a compensatory response as observed by increased level of PABP5 and nuclear accumulation of PABP4. In addition, PABP4 was associated with the poly(A) tract of pre-mRNA and CPSF in PABPN1 depleted cells. Nevertheless, PABPN1 depletion significantly affected cell survival as evidenced by an increase in apoptosis markers: phosphorylated p53 and PUMA and as judged by the expression of ER stress marker GRP78. Conclusion Our results suggest that although function of PABPN1 may be compensated by nuclear translocation of PABP4 and perhaps by increase in the cytoplasmic abundance of PABP5, these were not sufficient to prevent apoptosis of cells. Thus PABPN1 may have a novel anti apoptotic role in mammalian cells.
Estrogen receptor (ER) beta regulates ERalpha expression in stromal cells derived from ovarian endometriosis.

CONTEXT Estradiol and its nuclear receptors, estrogen receptor (ER) alpha and ERbeta, play critical roles in endometrium and endometriosis. Levels of ERbeta, due to pathological hypomethylation of its promoter, are significantly higher in endometriotic vs. endometrial tissue and stromal cells, whereas ERalpha levels are lower in endometriosis. Estradiol regulates ERalpha gene expression via its alternatively used promoters A, B, and C. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to determine whether high levels of ERbeta in endometriotic stromal cells from ovarian endometriomas regulate ERalpha gene expression. RESULTS ERbeta knockdown significantly increased ERalpha mRNA and protein levels in endometriotic stromal cells. Conversely, ERbeta overexpression in endometrial stromal cells decreased ERalpha mRNA and protein levels. ERbeta knockdown significantly decreased proliferation of endometriotic stromal cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that estradiol enhanced ERbeta binding to nonclassical activator protein 1 and specificity protein 1 motifs in the ERalpha gene promoters A and C and a classic estrogen response element in promoter B in endometriotic stromal cells. CONCLUSIONS High levels of ERbeta suppress ERalpha expression and response to estradiol in endometrial and endometriotic stromal cells via binding to classic and nonclassic DNA motifs in alternatively used ERalpha promoters. ERbeta also regulates cell cycle progression and might contribute to proliferation of endometriotic stromal cells. We speculate that a significantly increased ratio of ERbeta:ERalpha in endometriotic tissues may also suppress progesterone receptor expression and contribute to progesterone resistance. Thus, ERbeta may serve as a significant therapeutic target for endometriosis.
Irreversible photo-Fenton-like triggered agglomeration of ultra-small gold nanoparticles capped with crosslinkable materials

A photo-Fenton-like process can promote the agglomeration and LSPR red-shifting of ultra-small gold nanoparticles by triggering a crosslink-degradation pathway that involves the surface coating, Fe(iii)–citrate and hydrogen peroxide. Applications may range from controlled photo-deposition of active materials to asynchronous sensing technologies to light-focused microfabrication.
Reconsidering Moore's Transactional Distance Theory

English One of the core theories of distance education is Michael Graham Moore's Theory of Transactional Distance that provides the broad framework of the pedagogy of distance education and allows the generation of almost infinite number of hypotheses for research. However, the review of the existing studies relating to the theory showed the use of a variety of functional definitions of transactional distance that reveals an absence of consensus. The purpose of the present study is the theoretical processing of its fundamental concept "transactional distance", as well as the incorporation of the theory into the epistemological framework of realism. In particular, the absence of consensus is overcome through the work of John Dewey. On this basis, transactional distance was defined as "the distance in understanding between teacher and learner". Additionally, an attempt is made to position the Theory of Transactional Distance in the epistemological framework of realism. From this point of view, transactional distance is one of the results of teaching. Greek Μία από τις κύριeς θeωρίeς της eξ αποστάσeως eκπαίδeυσης, eίναι η θeωρία της "διαδραστικής απόστασης" του MichaelGrahamMoore. Η συγκeκριμένη θeωρία, έχeι αποτeλέσeι ένα δημιουργικό παιδαγωγικό πλαίσιο για την eφαρμογή της eξ αποστάσeως eκπαίδeυσης, eνώ παράλληλα, έχeι eπιτρέψeι την διατύπωση eνός μeγάλου αριθμού eρeυνητικών υποθέσeων. Παρόλα αυτά, μέσα από την eπισκόπηση των eρeυνών, παρουσιάζeται ποικιλία διαφορeτικών λeιτουργικών ορισμών της "διαδραστικής απόστασης", η οποία αναδeικνύeι απουσία συναίνeσης σχeτικά μe αυτήν. Σκοπός λοιπόν της παρούσας μeλέτης, ήταν η θeωρητική eπανeξέταση της έννοιας της "διαδραστικής απόστασης" και η ένταξη της στο eπιστημολογικό πλαίσιο του "ρeαλισμού ". Eιδικότeρα η απουσία συναίνeσης σχeτικά μe τον λeιτουργικό ορισμό της "διαδραστικής απόστασης" μπορeί να ξeπeρασθeί μe την συνδρομή του έργου του JohnDewey. Στην βάση αυτού, η "διαδραστική απόσταση" ορίσθηκe ως "η απόσταση κατανόησης μeταξύ διδάσκοντα και μαθητeυόμeνου ". Eντάσσοντας δe την θeωρία στο eπιστημολογικό πλαίσιο του "ρeαλισμού", η "διαδραστική απόσταση" προσeγγίζeται ως αποτέλeσμα της διδακτικής διαδικασίας.
Output-based event-triggered ℋ∞ control for sampled-data control systems with nonuniform sampling

This paper is concerned with the event-triggered output feedback ℋ∞ control for sampled-data control systems with nonuniform sampling. Firstly, an output-based event-triggered communication scheme is proposed, in which the state of the system is sampled with a nonuniform sampling period. Under this scheme, whether or not the sampled data should be transmitted is determined by a predetermined output-based event-triggering condition. Secondly, an event-triggered networked control system is modeled as a time-delay system by taking into consideration the output-error between the output at the current sampling instant and the output at the last transmitted sampling instant. Thirdly, stability and stabilization criteria are derived to guarantee the uniform ultimate bounded stability and the desired performance while using less communication resources. Finally, two illustrative examples are used to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Gender differences in the predictors of career indecision of secondary school students in Kenya

The purpose of this study was to determine the predictors of career indecision by gender. A sample of 359 (162 male and 197 female) secondary school students were surveyed on career indecision, career readiness, locus of control, vocational identity, self esteem, social support and career decision making self efficacy. Using multiple regression analysis, the predictor variables were able to account for 32.9 % of variance in males and 32.8% variance in females. Career readiness and vocational identity emerged as the strongest predictors of career indecision for female students while career readiness, external locus of control and vocational identity emerged as the strongest predictors of career indecision for male students. The results demonstrate the importance of providing students with adequate career information, encouraging them to explore and engage in activities related to career decision making and helping students come up with clear career goals.
Clustering analysis method based on fuzzy C-means algorithm of PSO and PPSO with application in image data

The popular fuzzy c-means algorithm (FCM) converges to a local minimum of the objective function. Hence, different initializations may lead to different results. The important issue is how to avoid getting a bad local minimum value to improve the cluster accuracy. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a popular and robust strategy for optimization problems. But the main difficulty in applying PSO to real-world applications is that PSO usually need a large number of fitness evaluations before a satisfying result can be obtained. In this paper, the improved new algorithm, "Fuzzy C-Mean based on Picard iteration and PSO (PPSO-FCM)", is proposed. Two real data sets were applied to prove that the performance of the PPSO-FCM algorithm is better than the conventional FCM algorithm and the PSO-FCM algorithm.