Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endogenous Estradiol and Testosterone Levels Are Associated with Cognitive Performance in Older Women and Men

Relatively few studies have investigated the relationship between endogenous sex steroid levels and cognition in older people and the reported results have been inconsistent. A number of experimental hormone replacement studies have suggested that estrogen replacement in older women enhances cognition, especially verbal memory. In contrast, little research has been done focusing on men. In the current study the association between endogenous sex steroids (estradiol and testosterone) and cognition was investigated in 38 healthy older women (mean age 68 years) and 30 healthy older men (mean age 69 years). Five cognitive tests measuring verbal memory, spatial memory, verbal fluency, mental rotation, and susceptibility to interference were administered. Results revealed that in women higher estradiol levels as well as testosterone levels were associated with better verbal memory (paired associates and estradiol; r =.38, P < 0.05; paired associates and testosterone; r =.33, P < 0.05;). Moreover estradiol, but not testosterone was associated with less susceptibility to interference (Stroop color word test; r = -0.34, P < 0.05). In men the only significant association was a negative correlation between testosterone and verbal fluency (r = -0.38, P < 0.05). The associations observed in this small study support the notion that estradiol is protecting verbal memory and possibly also frontal lobe mediated functions in older women. In contrast to the positive findings in women endogenous sex steroids do not appear to be closely linked to better cognition in older men.
Risk Assessment of Clinical Reactions to Legumes in Peanut-Allergic Children

Peanut-allergic children might be at risk for reactions to other legumes. However, it is not always possible to perform multiple oral food challenges in children. On the basis of patient case history, in vitro diagnostic tests, and eventually food challenges, we aimed at developing an algorithm for risk assessment of possible clinical reactions to other legumes (soybean, lupine, fresh, and blanched green pea). Seventy-five consecutive patients with a positive oral food challenge to peanut were included in the study. All tests were run as part of the routine allergy examination. A high proportion of patients and/or caretakers refused the administered legume oral food challenges. Obtained diagnoses from histamine release did not correlate significantly to the outcome of the algorithm. Interestingly, threshold from peanut challenges did not correlate with the risk assessment.The algorithm presented in this study can be used when advising peanut-allergic children and their caretakers about what other legumes to avoid in the diet.
On the interactions between Fusarium toxin-contaminated wheat and non-starch-polysaccharide hydrolysing enzymes in turkey diets on performance, health and carry-over of deoxynivalenol and zearalenone

1. Diets with increasing proportions of Fusarium toxin-contaminated wheat (0, 170, 340 and 510 g CW/kg) were fed to male turkeys (BUT Big 6) from d 21 to d 56 of age. Each diet was tested with or without a non-starch-polysaccharide (NSP) hydrolysing enzyme preparation. Dietary deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZON) concentrations were successively increased up to approximately 5·4 and 0·04 mg/kg, respectively. 2. Weight gain decreased slightly with increasing proportions of CW, by 1·6, 0·7 and 3·6%, whereas other performance parameters remained unaffected. NSP enzyme supplements to the diets had no influence. 3. The weight of the emptied jejunum plus ileum, relative to live weight, decreased in a dose-related fashion whereby the NSP enzyme exerted an additional weight-decreasing effect. A similar weight-decreasing NSP enzyme effect was noted for heart weights. Activity of glutamate dehydrogenase in serum was significantly increased in groups fed the diets with the highest CW proportion, whereas γ-glutamyl-transferase remained unaltered. 4. Viscosity in the small intestine was significantly reduced by supplementing the diets with the NSP enzyme. This effect successively decreased with increasing proportions of the CW. 5. Concentrations of DON and of its de-epoxidised metabolite de-epoxy-DON in plasma, liver and breast meat were lower than the detection limits of 2 ng/ml (plasma) and 4 ng/g, respectively, of the applied HPLC method. DON concentration in bile reached up to 13 to 23 ng/ml whereas de-epoxy-DON concentration was lower than 4 ng/ml. 6. ZON or its metabolites were not detectable in plasma, liver or breast meat (detection limits of the HPLC method were 1, 0·5 and 5 ng/g for ZON, α-zearalenol (ZOL) and β-ZOL, respectively). Concentrations of ZON and α-ZOL in bile increased with dietary ZON concentration. The mean proportions of ZON, α-ZOL and β-ZOL of the sum of all three metabolites were 19, 77 and 4%, respectively.
Person identification and interaction of social robots by using wireless tags

This paper reports a trial of immersing interactive humanoid robots into a real human society, where they are charged with the communication task of foreign language education. For this purpose, we developed interactive humanoid robots equipped with wireless person identification technology for facilitating interaction with multiple persons. We believe that the ability to identify persons allows more meaningful social relationships between robots and humans to develop. This paper discusses the fundamental mechanisms of the multi-person identification ability, and how the robots established and sustained social relationships among children in an elementary school.
Optimum detection and receiver performance for multistatic radar configurations

The binary detection problem is investigated for a multistatic radar configuration with one transmitter and N separated receivers, A time-discrete mathematical framework is developed to which the likelihood ratio test can be applied. The optimum multistatic receiver structures are elaborated for the Swerling fluctuation models and can be described as follows: Each wave form is fed into a square envelope detector and the outputs are multiplied by a weight factor, depending on the local average signal-to-noise ratio. The computed N quantities are summed up and compared to a threshold. To determine the receiver performance, the detection probability is calculated as a function of the false alarm probability and the local signal-to-noise ratios.
Race of Experimenter in Racial Attitude Measurement

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of race of examiner who administers the Situational Attitude Scale (SAS). One group of white Ss (N = 115) was administered the SAS by blacks and a comparable group by white administrators (N = 204). Questionnaires were completed anonymously. Results of two-way analyses of variance (fixed model, p = .05) indicated that there were no measurable effects attributable to the race of the person administering the SAS, and whites generally responded negatively to blacks in personal or social situations.
Sex-change rules, stock dynamics, and the performance of spawning-per-recruit measures in protogynous stocks

Predicting and under- standing the dynamics of a popula- tion requires knowledge of vital rates such as survival, growth, and repro- duction. However, these variables are inf luenced by individual behavior, and when managing exploited popu- lations, it is now generally realized that knowledge of a species' behav- ior and life history strategies is required. However, predicting and understanding a response to novel conditions—such as increased fish- ing-induced mortality, changes in environmental conditions, or specific management strategies—also require knowing the endogenous or exogenous cues that induce phenotypic changes and knowing whether these behaviors and life history patterns are plastic. Although a wide variety of patterns of sex change have been observed in the wild, it is not known how the specific sex-change rule and cues that induce sex change affect stock dynamics. Using an individual based model, we examined the effect of the sex-change rule on the predicted stock dynamics, the effect of mating group size, and the performance of traditional spawn- ing-per-recruit (SPR) measures in a protogynous stock. We considered four different patterns of sex change in which the probability of sex change is determined by 1) the absolute size of the individual, 2) the relative length of individuals at the mating site, 3) the frequency of smaller individuals at the mating site, and 4) expected reproductive success. All four pat- terns of sex change have distinct stock dynamics. Although each sex- change rule leads to the prediction that the stock will be sensitive to the size-selective fishing pattern and may crash if too many reproductive size classes are fished, the performance of traditional spawning-per-recruit mea- sures, the fishing pattern that leads to the greatest yield, and the effect of mating group size all differ distinctly for the four sex-change rules. These results indicate that the management of individual species requires knowl- edge of whether sex change occurs, as well as an understanding of the endogenous or exogenous cues that induce sex change.
Evaluating the Impact of Interface Agents in an Intelligent Tutoring Systems Authoring Tool

This paper describes the evaluation of a speech-driven cartoon agent that has been embodied in the interface of a Web-based Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) authoring tool. The agent is mainly used in the student interface of the ITSs that are produced by the authoring tool and represents either a student or an instructor. The agent was evaluated during an experiment in terms of the effect that it could have on students’ interaction with the generated ITSs. The participants in the experiment were divided into three groups: one third of them worked with a version of the ITS in which the agent was supposed to be an instructor, another third worked with a version of the ITS in which the agent was acting as a costudent and the rest worked with an agent-less version. The results from this study seem to confirm the hypothesis that a pedagogical agent incorporated in an ITS can improve students’ experience. On the other hand, the hypothesis that the presence of the agent significantly enhances learning was rejected based on our data. Comparing the two agent versions of the co-student and instructor, the most important finding was that students seem to feel more comfortable working with a virtual costudent than with a virtual instructor.
Suburban School Districts and Demographic Change

Purpose: Suburban school districts have undergone significant demographic shifts over the past several decades. The research literature to date, however, has yet to explore how suburban district leaders are responding to such changes, or examine the factors that shape response. In this article, we apply a “zone of mediation” framework to examine how the leaders of one large and rapidly changing suburban school district in Texas responded to its changing student population. In our analysis, we consider the technical, normative, and political dimensions of this district’s response to demographic shifts. Research Methods/Approach: We conducted an in-depth qualitative case study of a large and rapidly changing district in the San Antonio Metropolitan area, which we named “Southern Independent School District. ” Our data included interviews with 28 district-level and community actors and interviews with 26 educators across three “focus” schools that were undergoing particularly rapid demographic shifts. Findings and Implications: We found that Southern Independent School District’s response to demographic change focused intensely on technical changes in curriculum and instruction. Such technical changes we found were explicitly adopted to address the needs of the increasing proportion of low-income students and students of color within the district. At the same time, we illustrate how the district failed to address the more challenging normative and political dynamics within the district. This failure, we show, placed significant limits upon the technical reforms that were adopted.
SoRo-Track: A two-axis soft robotic platform for solar tracking and building-integrated photovoltaic applications

We present SoRo-Track, a two-axis soft robotic actuator (SRA) for solar tracking and building-integrated photovoltaic applications. SRAs are gaining increasing popularity compared to traditional actuators, such as dc motors and hydraulic or pneumatic pistons, due to their inherent compliance, low morphological complexity, high power-to-weight ratio, resilience to external shocks and adverse environmental conditions, design flexibility, ease of fabrication, and low costs. We present the design, modelling and experimental characterisation of SoRo-Track. Finally, we demonstrate the suitability of SoRo-Track for solar tracking applications, which makes it a viable component for dynamic building facades.
Cross-Cultural Construct Validity of the Five-Factor Model of Personality among Korean Employees

Based on a sample of 717 employees of Korean firms administered the Korean version of the NEO-PI-R, this study used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the construct validity of the five-factor model (FFM) of personality in Korea. CFA results indicated that the FFM fit the Korean data as well as it fit the U.S. normative data reported in the NEO-PI-R manual. Furthermore, the pattern of intercorrelations among the FFM dimensions in the Korean sample was similar to that in the U.S. normative data sample, with the only noteworthy difference being the hypothesized stronger relation between Agreeableness and Conscientiousness in the Korean sample. In neither sample was the FFM assumption of orthogonality supported. Study results support the hypothesis that the basic structure of personality is similar across cultures and indicate that the FFM can describe this common structure if the assumption of trait orthogonality is abandoned.
Evaluation of pediatric cataracts and systemic disorders

Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to outline those systemic disorders with associated cataracts to help in the evaluation and diagnosis of the patient with pediatric cataract who has systemic abnormalities. Recent findings With the profound advancement in genetics, both making and confirming a diagnosis in rare syndromic disorders have become even more possible. By diagnosing a syndromic cataract, the patient and family members are afforded the opportunity to obtain a better understanding of their disorder as well as develop expectations as to the course of their child's disorder. Summary The intent of this article is to act as a resource for helping to determine the cause of cataracts based on the lens appearance, age of onset and systemic findings. Children with cataracts, especially when bilateral, require a comprehensive history and ophthalmic examination with physician awareness toward other organ system involvement. A basic assessment of facial, skeletal, genitourinary, gastrointestinal and integumentary abnormalities is beneficial. In this review, there are numerous tables that are to act as a resource in developing a differential diagnosis and guide further systemic and genetic evaluation.
Characterization of cytokine‐producing cells in mucosal effector sites: CD3+ T cells of Th1 and Th2 type in salivary gland‐associated tissues

The major purpose of this study was to elucidate Th1 [interferon (IFN)‐γ and interleukin (IL)‐2] and Th2 (IL‐4, IL‐5 and IL‐6) cytokine‐producing CD3+ T cells in salivary glands, which are the major mucosal effector tissues in the oral region. Thus, CD3+ T cells were isolated from salivary gland‐associated tissues (SGAT) which consist of the submandibular gland (SMG: ∼46%), the periglandular lymph node (PGLN: ∼ 72 %), and the cervical lymph node (CLN: ∼ 90%). When SMG CD3+ T cells were examined by Th1 and Th2 cytokine‐specific ELISPOT and reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction assay, high levels of both cytokine‐specific spot‐forming cells (SFC) and mRNA for IFN‐γ, and for IL‐5 and IL‐6 were noted as representative Th1 or Th2 cytokines, respectively. Following stimulation with concanavalin A (Con A), SMG CD3+ T cells expressed mRNA and produced lymphokines for an array of Th1 (IFN‐γ and IL‐2) and Th2 (IL‐4, IL‐5 and IL‐6) cytokines. In comparison to the SMG CD3+ T cells, PGLN and CLN contain lower numbers of IFN‐γ‐, IL‐5‐ and IL‐6‐producing T cells. When these two tissues were compared, PGLN CD3+ T cells contained higher numbers of cytokine‐secreting cells than CLN. Further, IL‐2 and IL‐4 SFC and mRNA were also noted in addition to IFN‐γ, IL‐5 and IL‐6 after Con A activation. These findings showed that CD3+ T cells in SGAT, especially the SMG, are programmed to produce IFN‐γ, and IL‐5 and IL‐6 as Th1 and Th2 cytokines, respectively in vivo, although these cells are capable of producing other Th1 and Th2 cytokines after receiving appropriate T cell activation signals.
Ex vivo cytokine release reflects sensitivity to occupational endotoxin exposure

Not everyone exposed to endotoxin develops respiratory symptoms, even at very high exposure levels. The aim was to investigate whether ex vivo lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cytokine release may be predictive of individual sensitivity to occupational endotoxin exposure. In 412 agricultural workers, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-10 release was measured in supernatants from LPS-stimulated whole blood, lung function was measured, and respiratory symptoms were assessed by questionnaire. For each cytokine, the population was dichotomised into low and high responders according to median cytokine concentrations. Endotoxin exposure levels were determined based on 249 personal exposure measurements. High IL-10 responders had a higher prevalence of airway symptoms than low IL-10 responders (odds ratios between 2.03 and 5.10; p<0.05). TNF-α response was positively, but not significantly, associated with symptoms, whereas no relationship was found between IL-1β response and symptoms. For all three cytokines, subjects with above-median responses showed significant positive dose–response relationships between endotoxin exposure and asthma symptoms, and significant associations between endotoxin exposure and a lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s (p<0.05). In contrast, exposure–response relationships were weak and statistically nonsignificant for low responders. The ex vivo inflammatory response to LPS reflects, to a large extent, whether individuals are susceptible to adverse respiratory effects induced by high occupational endotoxin exposure.
Phase mismatch study and correction of a parallel FBD ΣΔ ADC for SDR receiver

This paper presents the study of phase mismatch in parallel frequency band decomposition (FBD)-based analog-to-digital converter (ADC). This architecture is designed for analog-to-digital conversion of wireless communication signals in a software defined radio (SDR) receiver. It is composed of 6 parallel branches based on discrete-time (DT) ΣΔ modulators using single-bit quantizers. The parallel branches operate on different sub-bandwidths and only needed branches are activated according to the selected standard. The division of the signal channel bandwidth on different sub-bandwidths and the digitization of each sub-bandwidth by one of the parallel branches lead to phase mismatching at the frequency boundaries between the adjacent branches. This paper focuses on the phase mismatch study and its correction in the FBD ΣΔ-based ADC architecture.
Visual servoing of nonholonomic mobile robots based on a new motion estimation technique

This paper presents a novel visual servoing strategy for a nonholonomic mobile robot, which is based on a new motion estimation technique. By taking into account the planar motion constraint of mobile robots, the proposed motion estimation technique does not require the estimation and decomposition of the homography or fundamental matrix, and it dose not cause any ambiguity problems. Moreover, the camera field-of-view (FOV) constraint and the partial occlusion problem are largely alleviated because the presented algorithm works well with few feature points. In order to incorporate the advantages of position-based visual servoing (PBVS) and image-based visual servoing (IBVS), a novel hybrid error vector is defined including both image signals and the estimated rotational angle. Furthermore, a smooth time-varying feedback controller is adopted to cope with the nonholonomic constraints, which yields global exponential stability for the closed-loop system despite the lack of depth information. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the proposed approach.
Classifier adaptation at prediction time

Classifiers for object categorization are usually evaluated by their accuracy on a set of i.i. d. test examples. This provides us with an estimate of the expected error when applying the classifiers to a single new image. In real application, however, classifiers are rarely only used for a single image and then discarded. Instead, they are applied sequentially to many images, and these are typically not i.i. d. samples from a fixed data distribution, but they carry dependencies and their class distribution varies over time. In this work, we argue that the phenomenon of correlated data at prediction time is not a nuisance, but a blessing in disguise. We describe a probabilistic method for adapting classifiers at prediction time without having to retrain them. We also introduce a framework for creating realistically distributed image sequences, which offers a way to benchmark classifier adaptation methods, such as the one we propose. Experiments on the ILSVRC2010 and ILSVRC2012 datasets show that adapting object classification systems at prediction time can significantly reduce their error rate, even with no additional human feedback.
African American Male Discipline Patterns and School District Responses Resulting Impact on Academic Achievement: Implications for Urban Educators and Policy Makers

* Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Chance W. Lewis, Endowed Chair & Associate Professor of Urban Education in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, College of Education, Texas AM (2) to detail the discipline responses recommended by the school district for these offenses; (3) to calculate the total amount of class time missed as a result of school district prescribed resolutions; and (4) to provide a connection to performance on standardized test reporting for the larger African American student population in this urban school district. As a result of the findings of this study, recommendations will be made for educators and policy makers to improve the discipline patterns and academic performance of African American males.
Nearest neighbor search with strong location privacy

The tremendous growth of the Internet has significantly reduced the cost of obtaining and sharing information about individuals, raising many concerns about user privacy. Spatial queries pose an additional threat to privacy because the location of a query may be sufficient to reveal sensitive information about the querier. In this paper we focus on k nearest neighbor (kNN) queries and define the notion of strong location privacy, which renders a query indistinguishable from any location in the data space. We argue that previous work fails to support this property for arbitrary kNN search. Towards this end, we introduce methods that offer strong location privacy, by integrating private information retrieval (PIR) functionality. Specifically, we employ secure hardware-aided PIR, which has been proven very efficient and is currently considered as a practical mechanism for PIR. Initially, we devise a benchmark solution building upon an existing PIR-based technique. Subsequently, we identify its drawbacks and present a novel scheme called AHG to tackle them. Finally, we demonstrate the performance superiority of AHG over our competitor, and its viability in applications demanding the highest level of privacy.