Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience in the Era of Networks and Big Data: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

Developmental cognitive neuroscience is being pulled in new directions by network science and big data. Brain imaging [e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), functional connectivity MRI], analytical advances (e.g., graph theory, machine learning), and access to large computing resources have empowered us to collect and process neurobehavioral data faster and in larger populations than ever before. The translational potential from these advances is unparalleled, as a better understanding of complex human brain functions is best grounded in the onset of these functions during human development. However, the maturation of developmental cognitive neuroscience has seen the emergence of new challenges and pitfalls, which have significantly slowed progress and need to be overcome to maintain momentum. In this review, we examine the state of developmental cognitive neuroscience in the era of networks and big data. In addition, we provide a discussion of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of the field to advance developmental cognitive neuroscience's scientific and translational potential. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, Volume 3 is December 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews. org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
Backlight Image Enhancement Technique based on Multi-range Stretching in Color Histograms

— This paper proposes a novel contrast enhancement method which determines the stretching ranges based on the distribution densities of segmented sub-histogram of a backlight image. In order to enhance the contrast of image effectively, the histogram is segmented into sub-histograms based on the density in each brightness region. Then the stretching range of each sub-histogram is determined by analyzing its distribution density. The higher density region is extended wider than the lower density region in the histogram of RGB colors. This method solves the over stretching problem, by stretching based on density rate of each area in the three RGB-histograms. Consequently, the object appeared dark due to backlight is now seen clearer and more visually natural image is extracted. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, the experiments have been carried out on complex contrast images and its work has been confirmed by comparing with the conventional methods.
New Biscoumarin Derivatives as Potent α-Glucosidase Inhibitors: Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, Kinetic Analysis, and Docking Study

Abstract A new series of biscoumarin derivatives 3a–n were synthesized and evaluated for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. The reaction of the 4-aminocoumarin with benzaldehyde derivatives led to the formation of the title compounds in good yields. All the synthesized compounds showed potent α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with IC50 ranging from 20.0 ± 0.7 to180.1 ± 0.8 µM, in comparison with acarbose as the standard drug (IC50 = 750.0 1.5 µM). Among the synthesized compounds, 3,3'-(p-tolylmethylene)bis(4-amino-2H-chromen-2-one) 3c was found to be the most active compound with an IC50 value of 20.0 ± 0.7 µM. Kinetic study exhibited that compound 3c was a competitive inhibitor against α-glucosidase (Ki = 22.4 µM). In silico docking study for the most potent compound 3c was also performed.
Comparative Analysis of Formal and Informal R&D for Innovation in Firms in ASEAN Countries

Many ASEAN SMEs successfully achieve innovation without owning specific R&D facilities. Firms that do not own specified in-house departments or sections to conduct R&D are defined as non-R&D firms. The aim of this study is to identify factors promoting innovation in the framework of R&D activity based on surveys on firms in five ASEAN countries including Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The method of analysis is to divide sample firms into two categories, namely “the R&D group” and “non-R&D group. ” The analysis attempts to identify which of the internal capabilities, consisting of technology, human factors and organization factors, promote innovation. In addition, top management leadership is postulated as an important factor in small SMEs based on the field surveys. The results of the estimation procedure indicate that the two groups pursue product innovation differently. The R&D group promotes innovation by (i) cross-functional teams of production, engineering, manufacturing, and sales & marketing for innovation of all types and (ii) IT use, while non-R&D group by (iii) HRD program for workers, (iv) Group award for suggestions or QC, and (v) ISO9000 series. These differences are due to their innovation or knowledge environment such as types of products and production methods, seeds of innovation, learning process, and so on.
Use of Online Reviews as Quality Metrics: A Comparison of Airline Reviews on Twitter and Skytrax

Online reviews serve as a key data source in the service industry as they can be accessed in real-time and is a reflection of customers’ changing focus on service aspects. The current study analyzes reviews of major U.S. airlines on Skytrax and Twitter during 2014 – 2019, and examines if the online review-derived weighted service quality (WSQ) score can be a good indicator of airline service quality. We find that the topics distributions and the WSQ scores significantly vary between the non-social media and social media platforms, and WQS score from social media is a better predictor of the objective measure - airline quality rating (AQR).
Impact of the introduction of the yellow corn futures contract on spot price volatility: Evidence from MexDer

In October of 2012 the authorities of the Mexican Derivatives Exchange introduced the Yellow Corn Futures Contract in order to provide a more flexible mechanism of hedging to Mexican producers, given that this contract will be traded in Mexican Pesos and will be of 25 metric tons. On the other hand, it is also expected that this futures contract to contribute to volatility reduction of yellow corn in the spot market. Employing GARCH models, robust evidence is found to express that once the Futures Contract started operating the price volatility of this grain, in the spot market, was reduced. JEL code: G14, G15, G18, G23, G28, G32
Microbial population and blood parameters of West African dwarf goats fed scent leaf (Ocimum gratissimum) as additive

A study was carried out to determine the rumen microbial population and blood parameters of 20 West African dwarf goats fed Ocimum gratissimum (scent leaf) as additive in a concentrate supplement. The goats were divided into four treatment groups (T1, T2, T3 andT4) with five replicates in a completely randomized design. Four concentrate supplements were formulated to contain scent leaf at levels 0,5,10, and 15g/kg DM. Panicum maximum was the basal diet. Chemical composition of scent leaf and the diets were determined. Rumen fluid and blood were collected from the goats before and after the experiment to determine microbial population and blood parameters. Results showed that scent leaf has moderate crude protein of 10.61% and rich in tannin, saponin and oxalate. At the end of the experiment, bacteria and protozoa counts were not significantly (p>0.05) influenced by the experimental diets, however there was a reduction in their values. Fungi count was significantly (p<0.05) affected by the diets and their values reduced as the level of scent leaf in the diets increased. The highest count (0.35×106 cfu/ml) was obtained at T1 (control) and the lowest value (0.05×106cfu/ml) obtained in goats fed 15g/kg DM scent leaf (T4). Red blood cell (RBC) count, packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin values increased at the end of the study and were significantly (p<0.05) highest (15.03×1012/l, 36.50% and 13.32g/dl respectively) in goats fed T3 (10g/kg DM of O. gratissimum). Serum urea and cholesterol levels were significantly lowest in goats fed T3 and T4. Alanine amino transferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) values were reduced by the experimental diets. It can therefore be concluded that scent leaf can be included in the diet of West African dwarf goats up to 10g/kg DM for improved RBC, PCV and Hb, and regulation of serum enzymes, urea and cholesterol levels
A Variable Soft Finger Exoskeleton for Quantifying Fatigue-induced Mechanical Impedance

Interactive (mechanical) impedance and finger fatigues are important topics, which have not been well investigated. To tackle this problem, we developed a soft lightweight (0.25 kg) finger exoskeleton (TIE-EXO) for quantifying interactive impedance and finger fatigue. A resist-as-needed (RAN) controller was used to produce variable resistance in fingers’ exercises. The TIE-EXO’s feedback and RAN’s parameters were applied to quantify the relationship between interactive impedance and finger fatigue. This quantification was validated in the index and middle fingers of three subjects. This validation shows that the RAN control enables the TIE-EXO to produce online resistance adaptations to different subjects and finger fatigue. Moreover, it indicates a variation and invariance in finger impedance control. We argue that the proposed method provides a novel way for investigating interactive impedance and finger fatigue.
Organisational resources and capabilities relating to ICTs utilisation by local authorities: An empirical testing in Greek municipalities

This paper aims at exploring the applicability of the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities View (DCV) in public organisations. Until now, the theoretical approaches of RBV and DCV have been mainly developed and applied to private for-profit organizations operating in turbulent market environments (i.e. high-tech industries), therefore the applicability of this theoretical framework to the public sector context is quite under-researched. This study attempts to develop a conceptual model so as to explore those organisational resources and capabilities that contribute to the functional-productive utilisation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by local authorities. Our attempt was guided by the fact that: a) ICTs constitute a General Purpose Technology which may have a critical impact on the productiveness and performance of organisations, and b) local government can play a significant role in the quality of life of citizens and the effective operation of businesses. A large-scale survey was carried out in almost the total population of Greek municipalities. Empirical testing supports the developed research hypotheses suggesting that the proposed conceptual model can be useful in identifying the fundamental factors for the beneficial implementation of eGovernment in local authorities.
Open-loop amplitude-modulation Kelvin probe force microscopy operated in single-pass PeakForce tapping mode

The open-loop (OL) variant of Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) provides access to the voltage response of the electrostatic interaction between a conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe and the investigated sample. The measured response can be analyzed a posteriori, modeled, and interpreted to include various contributions from the probe geometry and imaged features of the sample. In contrast to this, the currently implemented closed-loop (CL) variants of KPFM, either amplitude-modulation (AM) or frequency-modulation (FM), solely report on their final product in terms of the tip–sample contact potential difference. In ambient atmosphere, both CL AM-KPFM and CL FM-KPFM work at their best during the lift part of a two-pass scanning mode to avoid the direct contact with the surface of the sample. In this work, a new OL AM-KPFM mode was implemented in the single-pass scan of the PeakForce Tapping (PFT) mode. The topographical and electrical components were combined in a single pass by applying the electrical modulation only in between the PFT tip–sample contacts, when the AFM probe separates from the sample. In this way, any contact and tunneling discharges are avoided and, yet, the location of the measured electrical tip–sample interaction is directly affixed to the topography rendered by the mechanical PFT modulation at each tap. Furthermore, because the detailed response of the cantilever to the bias stimulation was recorded, it was possible to analyze and separate an average contribution of the cantilever to the determined local contact potential difference between the AFM probe and the imaged sample. The removal of this unwanted contribution greatly improved the accuracy of the AM-KPFM measurements to the level of the FM-KPFM counterpart.
Endogeneity in Modal Regression

In this paper, we propose a control function approach to account for endogeneity in a parametric linear triangular simultaneous equations model for modal regression, where the conditional mode of the unobservable error term on explanatory variables is nonzero. We adjust endogeneity with the residuals from the conditional mode decomposition of the endogenous variable as controls in the structural equation, and develop a computationally attractive two-step estimation procedure with the conditional mode independence restriction. The proposed estimators could be conveniently solved by virtue of a modified modal expectation-maximization (MEM) algorithm. The consistency and asymptotic properties of the estimators for both parametric and nonparametric parts are rigorously established under generic regularity conditions, where we demonstrate that the parametric estimator is √ nh3consistent (n is the sample size and h is a bandwidth) and the estimation of the nonparametric component is oracle. Monte Carlo simulations are conducted to evaluate the finite sample performance of the proposed estimation procedure. To motivate the proposed control function method, we introduce a dynamic model of rational behavior under uncertainty, in which the agent maximizes the present discounted value of the stream of future modal utilities, and develop a modal Euler equation derived from the maximization model that the agent must satisfy in equilibrium. We estimate the modal elasticity of intertemporal substitution (EIS) directly from the stochastic Euler equation. Two other applications to the real datasets of Return to Schooling and Colonial Origins of Comparative Development are presented to further illustrate the proposed estimators in practice. We in the end construct an adaptive least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) technique for selecting instrumental variables and demonstrate the oracle property of the proposed penalized modal regression model. Since mode is identical to mean with symmetric data, several remarks on modalbased control function mean estimation are also addressed for the sake of thoroughness.
Developing Big-Data Application as Queries: an Aggregate-Based approach

Recent advances on query languages (QLs) and DBMS suggest that their traditional role in application development can and should be extended dramatically in many big-data application areas, including graph, machine learning and data mining applications. This is made possible by the superior expressive power that database aggregates bring to recursive queries and the realization of their powerful non-monotonic semantics via efﬁcient and scalable ﬁxpoint-base operational semantics. Thus, in this paper, we discuss how classical algorithms can be expressed concisely using queries with aggregates in recursion that have a rigorous declarative semantics. Then we discuss what modiﬁcations, if any, are needed on such programs to have an efﬁcient and scalable ﬁxpoint-based operational semantics, whereby we can also identify queries that are conducive to bulk-synchronous and stale-synchronous parallelism.
NAFTA AND MEXICAN MIGRATION TO MICHIGAN

The argument here was originally presented at the conference, NAFTA: Free Trade Among Nations, at Michigan State University, November 1994. The author gratefully acknowledges the contribution to this effort of the Samora Institute's editorial staff along with the commentary of Rosemary Aponte, David Arsen, Steve Gold, Cory Krupp, Karen Roberts, and, especially, Peter Dorman, on earlier drafts. However, the usual disclaimers fully apply.
Concept development and candidate technologies selection for the DEMO–FNS fuel cycle systems

Within the framework of activities on a pilot industrial hybrid reactor (pilot hybrid plant-PHP) development, the DEMO–FNS fusion neutron source is being designed in Russia. Russian fusion and fission community considers it as the main facility developing prospective nuclear technologies, which should update the results of the ITER researches in the field of physics and control of burning plasma. Progress in the development of the plant and simulations of the fusion fuel cycle allows starting the engineering design of basic fuel cycle systems. In this paper, we consider the new prospective of technological solutions for the tokamak fuel cycle. The possibility of their integration and the analysis of the technology readiness level for them in the Russian Federation are addressed as well. The code simulating the hydrogen isotope flows in a tokamak was significantly upgraded for evaluation of the specific technological solutions as well as for combined modeling of the fuel circulation in the core and divertor plasmas allowing for the pumping, processing, and fuel isotope content control in the plasma. The article describes the core and divertor plasma model used for the calculations and shows the D/T fuel throughput values, which should be provided by the fuel injection systems (NBI and pellets). The dependencies of the HFS and LFS pellet injection frequency necessary for the main plasma supply and ELM control are found for different core and divertor plasma parameters. For the DEMO–FNS core plasma, an operating window has been found in terms of fueling control parameters. It was shown that D and T throughputs of 40–50 Pa·m3 s−1 should be provided by the fuel injection systems (NBI and pellets) to maintain the fusion power up to 40 MW. For the DEMO–FNS core plasma, an operating window defined by the particle confinement times and fuel injection throughputs has been found.
Topology of 2D turbulent structures based on intermittence in the TJ-II stellarator

This work estimates the degree of turbulent intermittence of the plasma potential measured by a heavy ion beam probe in the core plasma region of the TJ-II stellarator. It is shown that the intermittence varies in a significant way with the plasma state (ion or electron root). In addition, radial minima of the intermittence are found to be associated with the location of topological structures of the flow associated with some important low-order rational surfaces. The local pressure gradient was also estimated, and a clear correlation was found between the steepening of the pressure gradient and the deepening of the minima of the intermittence, suggesting that the minima are associated with pressure gradient driven modes. By estimating the rotation velocity of the plasma from the measured plasma potential, it was possible to make a rough reconstruction of the two-dimensional radial–poloidal map of intermittence, thus clarifying the topological structure of the intermittence. The experimental results were put into context by comparing with simulations performed using a resistive magneto-hydrodynamic turbulence model.
Bitcoin Consensus in Distributed Systems

In the physical realm, paper fiat currencies are almost impossible to duplicate. As a result, a spent US Dollar bill cannot be concurrently used by the same payor in a different transaction. In digital space, one could also rule out double spending occurrences by setting up a central arbiter. In this case, the central authority (e.g., a bank) would decide on the fate of a transaction. However, such central arbiters do not exist in decentralized structures. Up until Bitcoin, all decentralized attempts suffered from the possibility of duplicating digital units and spending them more than once.
Perceptions and expectations on biodiversity of three focus groups (small farmers, local personnel, and scientist) in the Kafa Biosphere Reserve

UNESCO biosphere reserves (BR) are places where stakeholders with different backgrounds engage and interact, making a good understanding of each party’s views and values necessary. As a contribution, this study was conducted on perceptions and expectations on biodiversity in Kafa BR, Ethiopia. Semi-structured interviews (n = 85) were conducted with three focus groups: small farmers, local personnel and scientists. The groups showed substantial differences regarding the definition of biodiversity, its perceived value and benefit for local communities. In contrast, there was a shared understanding of the main risks (population pressure) and threats (expanding agriculture). Commonly mentioned necessary steps for protection of biodiversity were community involvement and benefits. Controversially discussed was the necessity of stricter law enforcement. Views on biodiversity were found to be strongly influenced by underlying value systems. Means of comparison is suggested as one major factor for varying understanding and valuing of biodiversity. When defining conservation goals, different backgrounds should therefore be carefully taken into account.
The Second Dicova Challenge: Dataset and Performance Analysis for Diagnosis of Covid-19 Using Acoustics

The Second Diagnosis of COVID-19 using Acoustics (DiCOVA) Challenge aimed at accelerating the research in acoustics based detection of COVID-19, a topic at the intersection of acoustics, signal processing, machine learning, and healthcare. This paper presents the details of the challenge, which was an open call for researchers to analyze a dataset of audio recordings consisting of breathing, cough and speech signals. This data was collected from individuals with and without COVID-19 infection, and the task in the challenge was a two-class classification. The development set audio recordings were collected from 965 (172 COVID-19 positive) individuals, while the evaluation set contained data from 471 individuals (71 COVID-19 positive). The challenge featured four tracks, one associated with each sound category of cough, speech and breathing, and a fourth fusion track. A baseline system was also released to benchmark the participants. In this paper, we present an overview of the challenge, the rationale for the data collection and the baseline system. Further, a performance analysis for the systems submitted by the 21 participating teams in the leaderboard is also presented.
Visualization and analysis of actin cytoskeleton organization in plants

The plant cytoskeleton is a highly dynamic system that consists of two components: microfilaments and microtubules. Actin microfilaments are essential for polar growth, cytoplasmic streaming, directing polar growth, anchoring the nucleus, gravity sensing, signalling pathway integration and a number of other functions. Actin morphology and dynamics are orchestrated by a variety of small actin binding proteins, and some of them have become a source of actin interaction domains widely used as markers for microfilaments in fusions with fluorescent reporter proteins. However, older techniques are still employed for actin visualization. In this short review, we will focus on the diversity of fluorescent reporter fusions for F-actin and on approaches and existing free software for the analysis of cytoskeleton organization, mainly in Arabidopsis. Abbreviations: MF ― microfilament, MT ― microtubule, GFP ― green fluorescent protein, MFA ― Microfilament Analyzer.