Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Temporal processing in listeners with unilateral hearing loss

Temporal processing is examined for sounds delivered to the intact ear of individuals with unilateral hearing, and delivered to one ear of individuals with normal, bilateral hearing. Two temporal processing skills are assessed: 1) the ability to detect sinusoidal amplitude modulation of a wide-band noise, for various modulation frequencies, and 2) the just-noticeable-difference for temporal complexity of random-spectrogram-sounds.
Reducing Modal Consequence Relations

In this paper we will investigate the possibility of reducing derivability in a modal consequence relation to consistency in unimodal and polymodal K by means of so–called reduction functions. We will present new and easy methods to prove standard results on decidability, complexity, finite model property, interpolation and Halldén–completeness using only the reduction functions. Some new results on complexity of modal logics will be established. All proofs are in addition constructive.
Effects of sun-dried Opuntia ficus-indica on feed and water intake and excretion of urine and faeces by Dorper sheep

The effects of incremental levels (0, 24 and 36%) of sun-dried and coarsely ground Opuntia cladodes in balanced diets on feed and water intake and excretion of urine and faeces were investigated. Nine Dorper wethers (mean live weight 45.3 ± 1.9 kg) were stratified according to body weight in three treatment groups and a diet randomly allocated to each group. The wethers were housed indoors in individual metabolic cages and fed the diets during a 7-day trial period. Feed and water intake and urine and faeces excretions were monitored and sampled for chemical analysis. The daily intake of feed (1096.3 ± 84.8, 1295.6 ± 80.9 and 1086.9 ± 95.8 g/day) and water (1993.3 ± 75.1, 2430.5 ± 265.3, 2295.2 ± 273.8 mL/day) for diets T0, T24 and T36 respectively, were not significantly influenced by including sun-dried Opuntia cladodes. Daily urine excretion showed no significant differences between treatments T0, T24 and T36. Inclusion of Opuntia cladodes in the diets resulted in the production of wet faeces within days, due to the presence of mucilage. Despite aesthetical aspects no detrimental effects were noted in the sheep. On the contrary, diet T36 had a significantly higher digestibility than diet T0, particularly for DM (digestibility coefficients = 0.723 ± 0.01 and 0.653 ± 0.01, respectively) and excreted less faecal DM (250.0 ± 21.1 vs. 345.2 ± 20.1 g/day).
Interactive point-based isosurface extraction

We propose a novel point-based approach to view dependent isosurface extraction. We introduce a fast visibility query system for the view dependent traversal, which exhibits moderate memory requirements. This technique allows for an interactive interrogation of the full visible woman dataset (1GB) at four to fifteen frames per second on a desktop computer. The point-based approach is built on an extraction scheme that classifies different sections of the isosurface into four categories, depending on the size of the geometry when projected onto the screen. In particular, we use points to represent small and subpixel triangles, as well as larger sections of the isosurface whose projection has subpixel size. To assign consistent and robust normals to individual points representing such regions, we propose to compute them during post processing of the extracted isosurface and provide the corresponding hardware implementation.
Approximation for Deforming Surface Sequence Based on Triangle Optimization

Many graphics applications represent deformable surfaces through dynamic meshes. Such models often contain redundant details, which can be difficult for processing and transmission. In this paper, we propose an efficient method to generate multiresolution models for deforming surface sequence based on triangle optimization. We use an improved quadric error metric (QEM) criterion as our basic measurement, which can preserve more local features on the surface. We define a deformation weight to be appended to the aggregated edge contraction cost for the whole animation. This new metric can preserve not only the modelpsilas individual geometric features but also features only appeared during the deformation animation. At last, we propose an intrinsic Laplacian mesh smoothing method to improve the triangle shape and further reduce the visual distortion. Our approach is efficient, easy to implement, and as a result good quality approximations with optimized triangles can be generated at any given frame.
The Open Cloud Testbed: A Wide Area Testbed for Cloud Computing Utilizing High Performance Network Services

Recently, a number of cloud platforms and services have been developed for data intensive computing, including Hadoop, Sector, CloudStore (formerly KFS), HBase, and Thrift. In order to benchmark the performance of these systems, to investigate their interoperability, and to experiment with new services based on flexible compute node and network provisioning capabilities, we have designed and implemented a large scale testbed called the Open Cloud Testbed (OCT). Currently the OCT has 120 nodes in four data centers: Baltimore, Chicago (two locations), and San Diego. In contrast to other cloud testbeds, which are in small geographic areas and which are based on commodity Internet services, the OCT is a wide area testbed and the four data centers are connected with a high performance 10Gb/s network, based on a foundation of dedicated lightpaths. This testbed can address the requirements of extremely large data streams that challenge other types of distributed infrastructure. We have also developed several utilities to support the development of cloud computing systems and services, including novel node and network provisioning services, a monitoring system, and a RPC system. In this paper, we describe the OCT architecture and monitoring system. We also describe some benchmarks that we developed and some interoperability studies we performed using these benchmarks.
Differential Expression of Salivary Proteins between Susceptible and Insecticide-Resistant Mosquitoes of Culex quinquefasciatus

Background The Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito, a major pest and vector of filariasis and arboviruses in the tropics, has developed multiple resistance mechanisms to the main insecticide classes currently available in public health. Among them, the insensitive acetylcholinesterase (ace-1R allele) is widespread worldwide and confers cross-resistance to organophosphates and carbamates. Fortunately, in an insecticide-free environment, this mutation is associated with a severe genetic cost that can affect various life history traits. Salivary proteins are directly involved in human-vector contact during biting and therefore play a key role in pathogen transmission. Methods and Results An original proteomic approach combining 2D-electrophoresis and mass spectrometry was adopted to compare the salivary expression profiles of two strains of C. quinquefasciatus with the same genetic background but carrying either the ace-1R resistance allele or not (wild type). Four salivary proteins were differentially expressed (>2 fold, P<0.05) in susceptible (SLAB) and resistant (SR) mosquito strains. Protein identification indicated that the D7 long form, a major salivary protein involved in blood feeding success, presented lower expression in the resistant strain than the susceptible strain. In contrast, three other proteins, including metabolic enzymes (endoplasmin, triosephosphate isomerase) were significantly over-expressed in the salivary gland of ace-1R resistant mosquitoes. A catalogue of 67 salivary proteins of C. quinquefasciatus sialotranscriptome was also identified and described. Conclusion The “resistance”-dependent expression of salivary proteins in mosquitoes may have considerable impact on biting behaviour and hence on the capacity to transmit parasites/viruses to humans. The behaviour of susceptible and insecticide-resistant mosquitoes in the presence of vertebrate hosts and its impact on pathogen transmission urgently requires further investigation. Data Deposition All proteomic data will be deposited at PRIDE (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/pride/).
The New Meaning of Educational Change

Part I Understanding Educational Change 1. A Brief History of Educational Change 2. Sources of Educational Change 3. The Meaning of Educational Change 4. The Causes and Problems of Initiation 5. The Causes and Problems of Implementation and Continuation 6. Planning Doing and Coping with Change Part II Educational Change at the Local Level 7. The Teacher 8. The Principal 9. The Student 10. The District Administrator 11. The Consultant 12. The Parent and the Community Part III Educational Change at Regional and National Levels 13. Governments 14. Professional Preparation of Teachers 15. Professional Development of Educators 16. The Future of Educational Change
Reducing errors in the anomaly-based detection of web-based attacks through the combined analysis of web requests and SQL queries

Web-based applications have become a popular means of exposing functionality to large numbers of users by leveraging the services provided by web servers and databases. The wide proliferation of custom-developed web-based applications suggests that anomaly detection could be a suitable approach for providing early warning and real-time blocking of application-level exploits. Therefore, a number of research prototypes and commercial products that learn the normal usage patterns of web applications have been developed. Anomaly detection techniques, however, are prone to both false positives and false negatives. As a result, if anomalous web requests are simply blocked, it is likely that some legitimate requests would be denied, resulting in decreased availability. On the other hand, if malicious requests are allowed to access a web application's data stored in a back-end database, security-critical information could be leaked to an attacker. To ameliorate this situation, we propose a system composed of a web-based anomaly detection system, a reverse HTTP proxy, and a database anomaly detection system. Serially composing a web-based anomaly detector and a SQL query anomaly detector increases the detection rate of our system. To address a potential increase in the false positive rate, we leverage an anomaly-driven reverse HTTP proxy to serve anomalous-but-benign requests that do not require access to sensitive information. We developed a prototype of our approach and evaluated its applicability with respect to several existing web-based applications, showing that our approach is both feasible and effective in reducing both false positives and false negatives.
Diabetic ketoacidosis in a community of suburban Osaka. Analysis of 39 episodes of ketoacidosis and related conditions.

Thirty-nine episodes of hyperglycemia and disturbance of acid-base equilibrium were classified according to the result of nitroprusside test for serum (or urine) ketones, serum electrolytes, glucose, lactate, beta-hydroxybutyrate and arterial blood pH and gas analysis into the following 6 groups; (1) diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), (2) mild DKA, (3) DKA with mixed acid-base disturbance, (4) DKA with lactic acidosis, (5) lactic acidosis with mild ketonemia, (6) lactic acidosis. Their clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, insulin and i.v. fluid requirement in the early phase of therapy were surveyed and compared with those reported from Western countries. The fundamental problems of groups (1) to (4) were hyperglycemia and acid-base disturbance. Groups (5) and (6) were characterized by underlying serious medical illness, accompanied by lactic acidosis and hyperglycemia. All patients in groups (1) to (4) recovered but 7 of 10 patients in groups (5) and (6) died within the first 7 days. DKA with or without lactic acidosis and lactic acidosis with or without mild ketonemia appeared as two separate conditions from the standpoint of management and prognosis and were differentiated only by nitroprusside test for serum ketones. DKA with lactic acidosis and DKA without it could not be differentiated by routine blood chemistries and therapy for the two did not differ so that they were thought to be in the same spectrum of metabolic alteration.
Scaling up Open CPD for Teachers in Higher Education: A Snowballing Approach

In this paper, we explore the snowballing approach developed for the openly licensed course Bring Your Own Device for Learning (BYOD4L) and the opportunities this presents to open cross-institutional CPD and open course development more generally. BYOD4L is a course for teachers and students in higher education which aims to help them gain both a better understanding of and develop their knowledge and skills in using their own smart devices for learning, teaching and professional development. BYOD4L has been developed by the authors and offered three times since 2014 with colleagues and students, participating Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from the UK and Australia and further collaborators in the US and Germany. The development of the snowballing approach is shared using an action research methodology. We propose a rethink of current CPD practices. We invite course designers, academic developers and the wider academic community to explore new and emerging models of CPD that capitalise on scalable collaborative open educational practices.
Disrupted Dopamine Transmission and the Emergence of Exaggerated Beta Oscillations in Subthalamic Nucleus and Cerebral Cortex

In the subthalamic nucleus (STN) of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, a pronounced synchronization of oscillatory activity at beta frequencies (15–30 Hz) accompanies movement difficulties. Abnormal beta oscillations and motor symptoms are concomitantly and acutely suppressed by dopaminergic therapies, suggesting that these inappropriate rhythms might also emerge acutely from disrupted dopamine transmission. The neural basis of these abnormal beta oscillations is unclear, and how they might compromise information processing, or how they arise, is unknown. Using a 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rodent model of PD, we demonstrate that beta oscillations are inappropriately exaggerated, compared with controls, in a brain-state-dependent manner after chronic dopamine loss. Exaggerated beta oscillations are expressed at the levels of single neurons and small neuronal ensembles, and are focally present and spatially distributed within STN. They are also expressed in synchronous population activities, as evinced by oscillatory local field potentials, in STN and cortex. Excessively synchronized beta oscillations reduce the information coding capacity of STN neuronal ensembles, which may contribute to parkinsonian motor impairment. Acute disruption of dopamine transmission in control animals with antagonists of D1/D2 receptors did not exaggerate STN or cortical beta oscillations. Moreover, beta oscillations were not exaggerated until several days after 6-hydroxydopamine injections. Thus, contrary to predictions, abnormally amplified beta oscillations in cortico-STN circuits do not result simply from an acute absence of dopamine receptor stimulation, but are instead delayed sequelae of chronic dopamine depletion. Targeting the plastic processes underlying the delayed emergence of pathological beta oscillations after continuing dopaminergic dysfunction may offer considerable therapeutic promise.
NEAR-IR DIRECT DETECTION OF WATER VAPOR IN TAU BOÖTIS b

We use high dynamic range, high-resolution L-band spectroscopy to measure the radial velocity (RV) variations of the hot Jupiter in the τ Boötis planetary system. The detection of an exoplanet by the shift in the stellar spectrum alone provides a measure of the planet's minimum mass, with the true mass degenerate with the unknown orbital inclination. Treating the τ Boo system as a high flux ratio double-lined spectroscopic binary permits the direct measurement of the planet's true mass as well as its atmospheric properties. After removing telluric absorption and cross-correlating with a model planetary spectrum dominated by water opacity, we measure a 6σ detection of the planet at Kp = 111 ± 5 km s−1, with a 1σ upper limit on the spectroscopic flux ratio of 10−4. This RV leads to a planetary orbital inclination of ° and a mass of . We report the first detection of water vapor in the atmosphere of a non-transiting hot Jupiter, τ Boo b.
STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING PRACTICES OF NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACHES

This study describes the results of a survey of the practices of National Basketball Association strength and conditioning (NBA S&C) coaches. The response rate was 68.9% (20 of 29). This survey examines (a) background information, (b) physical testing, (c) flexibility development, (d) speed development, (e) plyometrics, (f) strength/power development, (g) unique aspects, and (h) comments from coaches providing additional information. Results indicate, in part, that coaches assess an average of 7.3 parameters of fitness, with body composition testing being the most common. All coaches used a variety of flexibility development strategies. Results reveal that 17 of 20 (85.0%) of NBA S&C coaches follow a periodization model. Nineteen of 20 coaches (95.0%) indicated that their athletes used Olympic-style lifts. All coaches employed plyometric exercises with their athletes. The squat and its variations, as well as the Olympic-style lifts and their variations, were the most frequently used exercises. The survey serves as a review and a source of applied information and new ideas.
Self-disclosure in Computer-Mediated Communication

This paper addresses the role of self-disclosure in Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC). While traditional research has been primarily centered on the task-related and the depersonalized function of CMC, little has been devoted to the socioemotional-related function of CMC. This paper outlines a basic framework of social penetration theory, applies this framework to CMC, and examines how users communicate personal feelings and thoughts about themselves with regard to self-disclosure via the verbal message. From this initial overview, the implications for future study of CMC is discussed.
Increased levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine are associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension in HIV infection

Objective:To examine the relationship between asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and HIV-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Design:HIV infection is an independent risk factor for PAH, but the underlying pathogenesis remains unclear. Chronic inflammation resulting in nitric oxide-mediated endothelial dysfunction is a key mechanism underlying other types of PAH. ADMA is an endogenous inhibitor of endothelial nitric oxide synthase. Among uninfected individuals, ADMA is associated with PAH and predicts disease-related mortality. Methods:We measured ADMA, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 (IL-6), D-dimer, and pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) using echocardiography in HIV-infected individuals. Right heart catheterization (RHC) was performed in individuals with a PASP at least 30 mmHg. We performed multivariable analysis to identify factors associated with high PASP by echocardiogram and PAH by RHC. Results:Among 214 HIV-infected individuals, the median age was 50 years, 82% were men, 71% were on antiretroviral therapy, and 4.2% carried a prior diagnosis of PAH. ADMA and IL-6 were associated with increased values of PASP following multivariable adjustment (7.2% per 0.1 &mgr;mol/l, P = 0.0049 and 3.9% per doubling, P = 0.027, respectively). In adjusted analysis among the 85 participants who underwent RHC, ADMA and IL-6 were associated with higher values of mean PAP (14.2% per 0.1 &mgr;mol/l, P = 0.0014 and 5.8% per doubling, P = 0.038, respectively). However, only ADMA was associated with PAH (prevalence ratio = 1.74, P = 0.029). Conclusion:Elevated levels of ADMA are independently associated with PAH among HIV-infected individuals. Our findings suggest that chronic HIV-associated inflammation leading to an accumulation of ADMA and subsequent nitric oxide-mediated endothelial dysfunction may represent a novel mechanism for HIV-associated PAH.
Who are the Victims? Victimhood Experiences in Postagreement Northern Ireland

The conflict in Northern Ireland left over 3,600 people dead and tens of thousands injured, but establishing who are victims and the very nature of victimhood has been difficult. In part this is due to the highly contested nature of the labels “victim” and “terrorist. ” The present paper employed interpretative phenomenological analysis to gain a greater understanding of the conceptualisation of victimhood in Northern Ireland. Catholic and Protestant civilians, paramilitaries, politicians, security force personnel, and community activists who had experienced direct and/or indirect political violence were interviewed. Analysis of the interview transcripts revealed five themes related to internal, interpersonal, and macro aspects of victimhood. The participants illustrated how the label of victim was associated with both weakness and strength, depending on the audience. Interview responses also revealed that although participants were resilient, they suffered at least some temporary psychological trauma due to their exposure to political violence. In addition the analysis indicated that there was a psychological cost associated with perpetrating acts of political violence. These findings are discussed in relation to the need for a national or cross-national program of intergroup dialogue and truth recovery to provide closure to victims and reintegrate victims and perpetrators into the postconflict society.
Detecting Lies and Deceit: Pitfalls and Opportunities

Detecting Lies and Deceit provides the most comprehensive review of deception to date. This revised edition provides an up-to-date account of deception research and discusses the working and efficacy of the most commonly used lie detection tools, including: •Behaviour Analysis Interview •Statement Validity Assessment •Reality Monitoring •Scientific Content Analysis •Several different polygraph tests •Voice Stress Analysis •Thermal Imaging •EEG-P300 •Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) All three aspects of deception are covered: nonverbal cues, speech and written statement analysis and (neuro)physiological responses. The most common errors in lie detection are discussed and practical guidelines are provided to help professionals improve their lie detection skills. Detecting Lies and Deceit is a must-have resource for students, academics and professionals in psychology, criminology, policing and law.