Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The nature of the artificial: augmenting Negrottian artificiality with neo-Whiteheadian naturality

In this paper, a theory of the artificial recently proposed by Negrotti (1999a, 1999b, 2001a, 2001b) is critically examined. First, a brief overview of this theory is presented. It is then argued that despite the merits of this scheme, principal of which are the self-evident simplicity of its conceptual foundations, its internal consistency (or theoretical coherence), and its possible overall correctness, it is, nonetheless, incomplete. This incompleteness is shown to arise as a direct consequence of the explicit affirmation of a number of problematic metaphysical assumptions about the nature (as essence or what-ness) of nature (as 'other' to the artificial). An attempt at resolving the problem of incompleteness by augmenting the Negrottian theory of artificiality with an alternative conception of nature (as 'other') grounded in Whiteheadian panexperientialism is made. It is shown that although panexperientialism provides an adequate framework for the conceptualisation of naturality, it does not provide a corresponding framework for artificiality, principally because it fails to adequately characterise the nature (as essence) of artifacts. In order to address this latter problem, it is argued that conventional Whiteheadian panexperientialism must be supplemented with a phenomenological account of artificing that describes the ontologically distinct manner in which artifacts come to be. An attempt at formulating such a 'neo-Whiteheadian' account grounded in the metaphysical thinking of Ladriere, Lee, and others is made. In closing, some implications of this alternative Whiteheadian conception of naturality and the attendant neo-Whiteheadian account of artifactuality for the project of "strong" artificiality (that is, the attempt to artifactually replicate natural phenomena) are briefly considered.
Pollen morphology of Rubiaceae Juss. species occurring in an area of caatinga (dryland) vegetation in Bahia State, Brazil

The palynology of the following 16 species of Rubiaceae, from Brejinho das Amestistas, was investigated: Coccocypselum hirsutum Bartl. ex DC. , Cordiera rigida Kuntze, Coutarea hexandra K.Schum. , Declieuxia fruticosa Kuntze, Diodella apiculata (Willd. ex Roem. & Schult.) Delprete, D. radula (Willd. ex Roem. & Schult.) Delprete, D. teres Small. , Emmeorhiza umbellata K.Schum. , Leptoscela ruellioides Hook. f. , Mitracarpus baturitensis Sucre. , Mitracarpus villosus Cham. & Schltdl. , Palicourea rigida Kunth, Psyllocarpus asparagoides Mart. , Richardia grandiflora Steud. , Staelia aurea K. Schum. , and Staelia galioides DC. The pollen grains were acetolysed to and their morphological characters were analyzed using light and scanning electron microscopy. They varied in size from small to large; were suboblate to subprolate; inaperturate (P. rigida), colpate and colporate in the remaining species, with an aperture number that varied from three to several. The exines were microreticulate in most species, reticulate (C. hirsutum, C. rigida and P. rigida), bireticulate (D. fruticosa), microechinate-perforated (C. hexandra), echinate-granulate (R. grandiflora), echinate-granulate-perforate (D. apiculata and D. teres), and psilate (P. asparagoides). Based on the results, palynological data can be used to distinguish these species.
Reputation Formation and the Evolution of Cooperation in Anonymous Online Markets

Theoretical propositions stressing the importance of trust, reciprocity, and reputation for cooperation in social exchange relations are deeply rooted in classical sociological thought. Today’s online markets provide a unique opportunity to test these theories using unobtrusive data. Our study investigates the mechanisms promoting cooperation in an online-auction market where most transactions can be conceived as one-time-only exchanges. We first give a systematic account of the theoretical arguments explaining the process of cooperative transactions. Then, using a large dataset comprising 14,627 mobile phone auctions and 339,517 DVD auctions, we test key hypotheses about the effects of traders’ reputations on auction outcomes and traders’ motives for leaving feedback. Our statistical analyses show that sellers with better reputations have higher sales and obtain higher prices. Furthermore, we observe a high rate of participation in the feedback system, which is largely consistent with strong reciprocity—a predisposition to unconditionally reward (or punish) one’s interaction partner’s cooperation (or defection)—and altruism—a predisposition to increase one’s own utility by elevating an interaction partner’s utility. Our study demonstrates how strong reciprocity and altruism can mitigate the free-rider problem in the feedback system to create reputational incentives for mutually beneficial online trade.
Aphid Genotype Determines Intensity of Ant Attendance: Do Endosymbionts and Honeydew Composition Matter?

ABSTRACT Ant—aphid interactions are well-studied mutualisms, but surprisingly, the intraspecific variation in the degree of ant attendance of aphids has been less appreciated than interspecific variation. Honeydew composition is a key factor in determining aphids' traits in relation to the intensity of ant attendance, and composition may be altered by endosymbiotic bacteria. Here, we evaluate relationships among the intensity of ant attendance, honeydew composition, and aphids' endosymbionts. We found differences in the intensity of ant attendance and endosymbiont composition between clones of cowpea aphids (Aphis craccivora Koch). To investigate whether aphid genotype, endosymbionts, or both, influence honeydew composition, and the relative influence of these factors on the intensity of ant attendance, a secondary symbiont of the aphid, Arsenophonus, was removed from the clone exhibiting a lower degree of ant attendance. Then, the sugar and amino acid composition of honeydew were compared between different aphid genotypes and between same genotype with and without Arsenophonus. The experiments demonstrated that there was a difference in the sugar composition of honeydew between clones, but that Arsenophonus did not influence this difference. Furthermore, the intensity of ant attendance of the clone did not change after removing Arsenophonus. These results suggest that variation in the degree of ant attendance of this aphid is caused by aphid genotype, not by endosymbionts.
Consistency relations for large-scale structures: Applications for the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect and the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect

Consistency relations of large-scale structures provide exact nonperturbative results for cross-correlations of cosmic fields in the squeezed limit. They only depend on the equivalence principle and the assumption of Gaussian initial conditions, and remain nonzero at equal times for cross-correlations of density fields with velocity or momentum fields, or with the time derivative of density fields. We show how to apply these relations to observational probes that involve the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect or the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. In the squeezed limit, this allows us to express the three-point cross-correlations, or bispectra, of two galaxy or matter density fields, or weak lensing convergence fields, with the secondary Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) distortion in terms of products of a linear and a nonlinear power spectrum. In particular, we find that cross-correlations with the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect show a specific angular dependence. These results could be used to test the equivalence principle and the primordial Gaussianity, or to check the modeling of large-scale structures.
Long Latency Auditory Potential (P300) Outcomes in a Patient with Vestibular Schwannoma after Cochlear Implant Surgery

Background: Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is a rare syndrome and it is usually presented with bilateral vestibular schwannomas (VS), multiple meningiomas, and other types of tumors associated to peripheral nerves. Hearing loss is one of its leading manifestations, and surgery for removal of the tumor is often required. Cochlear implant (CI) surgery is an option for auditory rehabilitation and long latency auditory potentials (P300) are becoming a very useful tool to assess hearing outcomes. Objective: To verify the presence of P300 waves during auditory and cortical function assessment in a patient submitted to VS removal and CI surgery. Design: Retrospective chart review. Case Report: A 62 years old male patient, presented at the clinic with a bilateral severe to profound hearing loss, worst at the right side. MRI scan revealed bilateral expansive tumor within the internal auditory canal expanding to cerebellopontine angle, suggestive of VS. Tumor was removed at the right side, and CI surgery was indicated for the left ear. P300 tests were performed pre-operatively, at the moment of activation, and 6 months post-operatively. After CI activation, P300 waves appeared, and presented reduced latency and increased amplitude after 6 months of CI use. Conclusion: P300 waves appear to be dependent on the auditory stimulus to be generated, showing that it can be a useful tool to estimate improvement in cortical cognitive function after restoring hearing through CI surgery after VS removal.
Object Tracking and Reconstruction with a Quanta Image Sensor

—Quanta Image Sensor devices offer single-photon sensitivity, coupled with high frame rates (>100kfps), making them ideal for the tracking of high-speed objects in low light conditions. However, motion artefacts emerge as bit-planes are aggregated in time to increase bit depth (and image detail). This work explores a scheme for object tracking, based on a sequence of binary output fields, followed by a reconstruction of the object, through summing transformed versions of the bit-planes.
Impact of Using Web-quests on Learning Vocabulary by Iranian Pre-university Students

Web-quests are internet-based technology applications in which groups of students follow a specific set of steps toward the completion of a final project on a specific subject or a multidisciplinary subject. The present study aimed to investigate the impacts of using web-quests on learning vocabulary by Iranian pre-university students. The sample of the study consisted of 72 students assigned into two groups. One of the groups represented the control group, and included 23 students; the other group represented the experimental group and comprised 49 students. The two groups were chosen from a population of pre-university students in Chadegan, Isfahan, Iran. The web-quest strategy was used in teaching the experimental group, while the traditional method was used with the control group in the second term of the school year 2015-2016. An Oxford Placement Test (OPT), a vocabulary pretest, a vocabulary posttest, and an attitude questionnaire were the data elicitation tools employed in this study. The collected data were analyzed using independent-samples t test, which was used to determine the existence of possible significant differences between the groups both before and after the instruction. The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences between both groups in favor of the experimental group. The conclusion, thus, could be that the students in the experimental group, who used the web-quest resources for learning vocabulary, performed significantly better than the students in the control group, who learnt vocabulary through traditional method of learning vocabulary. Finally, questionnaire data analyzed via one-sample t test indicated that the experimental group learners had a positive attitude towards the treatment they experienced in the experiment.
Next Generation of Interactive contact centre for efficient customer recognition : Conceptual Framework

Contact centers, as the organization’s touch point, have a considerable effect on customer experience and retention. It has been shown that 70% of all business interactions are handled in contact centers. A framework is proposed in this conceptual paper to build cleaned interactive customer recognition framework (CICRF) in CCs. CICRF consists of two integrated modules: cleansing and ICRF. The first module focuses on the detection and resolution of duplicate records to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of customer recognition. The second module focuses on interactive customer recognition in a customer database when there are multiple records with the same name. Cleansing module uses Semi-Automatic deduplication process by incorporating three main functions in its design, namely: DedupCrowd, DedupNN and DedupCSR. DedupCrowd is a function that provides training pairs of records for DeduppNN which is a deduplication based neural network. Researchers suggest leveraging human computing power in managing duplicate data which is scalable top the large size of contact centers data. However completion of crowdsourcing tasks is an error-prone process that affects the overall performance of the crowd. Thus, controlling the quality of workers is an essential step for crowdsourcing systems and for that I propose OSQC, an online statistical quality control framework, to monitor the performance of workers. DeduppNN is a neural network based deduplication method that uses output of DedupCrowd for the training purposes. DeduppNN has two features: first is that it is an online deduplication method which is essential for the purposes of customer recognition. Second is that in terms of costs it is much lower in comparison with DedupCrowd. The last function is designed for providing label to pairs when DedupNN is not sure about their label. The intuition behind this function is similar with active learning area which selects appropriate data for labeling. ICRF consists of three integrated sub-modules. The first sub-module (DedupNNSelect) focuses on the detection and resolution of duplicate records to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of customer recognition. The second sub-module determines the level of ambiguity in the recognition of an individual customer in a customer database when there are multiple records with the same name. The third submodule, depending on the level of determined ambiguity from the second module, recommends to the CSR the series of featurerelated questions that need to be asked of the customer for his/her recognition. Keywords— Customer Recognition; Duplicate detection; Common Personal Names; Predictive Aiding System;
Enterprise management in VUCA conditions

Today’s world, which is characterised by variability, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA), poses a problem associated with a shift in the business administration paradigm. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to define the features and develop a conceptual model of business administration in the VUCA world. The article defines the components of the VUCA world and describes their impact on business administration. The research was conducted from September to November 2017 based on a sample of 90 Ukrainian enterprises in Kharkiv city with the involvement of managers of 34 manufacturing, 36 trade and 20 transport enterprises to determine factors affecting the efficiency of management under the conditions of variability, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. The authors of the article have developed a conceptual model of business administration in the VUCA world based on the identified factors and characteristics of the modern world. The model includes objectives of entrepreneurial activity from the perspective of marketing approaches and stakeholders’ interests with regard to environmental factors, as well as methods and management tools that ensure competitive growth.
H∞ Filter Design for Anti-skid Braking System for Fighter Aircraft

Aircraft brake system plays a very important role in the safe takeoff and landing. On landing, skid phenomena is observed due to runway surfaces, pilot brake demand or due to other factors which creates unsafe for the aircraft while landing. So we use anti-skid braking system which will prevent tires from slipping extremely on the track and ensure aircraft landing safety and stability with maximum braking efficiency. Estimate of the slip is estimated using a technique called H∞ filter design. The purpose of estimation is to make the slip, error free, from the noises coming out from the sensors and other measuring devices which affect the system parameters. This paper presents modeling and simulation part of the work for the aircraft brake system
Does First Step to Success Have Long-Term Impacts on Student Behavior? An Analysis of Efficacy Trial Data

Abstract. First Step to Success (First Step; Walker et al., 1997, 1998) is a secondary-level intervention for students with behavior problems in early elementary school. The purposes of this study were to assess whether effects in student behavior and academics at posttest shown in a recent efficacy trial (Walker et al., 2009) were maintained at follow-up and to examine the relationship of implementation fidelity to outcomes. The findings showed that although First Step's initial impact was significant and positive across all behavior and some academic measures, gains eroded 1 year after the intervention was withdrawn. Results are discussed in the context of students' experience of yearly change in classroom environments, teachers' variable behavioral expectations and perceptions, and the need for intervention maintenance plans to support sustainment of treatment effects.
School Engagement and Language Achievement: A Longitudinal Study of Gender Differences across Secondary School

The present study investigated (1) gender differences in the longitudinal development of language achievement and school engagement (i.e., effort for language, attitude toward learning tasks, interest in learning tasks, and relationship with teachers) across secondary school (Grades 7–12, ages 12–18) and (2) gender differences in the association between these developmental processes. Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Project in Secondary School (LOSO project) that followed a cohort of 2,270 students in Flanders (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) during secondary school. We used univariate and multivariate latent growth curve models to analyze the longitudinal data. The results showed, as expected, significant gender differences in the development of language. Girls showed a quasi-linear positive learning gain in language across secondary school, whereas boys started with a decline followed by acceleration in their learning gain in language. With regard to school engagement we observed a decline both for boys and girls, but the decline in the effort for language and the attitude toward learning tasks was steeper for boys than for girls. In addition, we found evidence for a positive longitudinal association between language achievement and school engagement, meaning that students who showed a smaller decline in school engagement also showed more learning gains in language. Moreover, only for boys were the school engagement starting levels related to their learning rates in language.
Revascularization of Chronic Venous Occlusion in the Setting of Post-Thrombotic Syndrome

Post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS), often the sequelae of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in lower extremities, carries high morbidity and often mortality. Timely intervention is critical for preventing complications and salvaging the extremity. Of late, there is growing interest in endovascular techniques, including percutaneous angioplasty with stent placement. We describe a unique case of MayThurner syndrome complicated by PTS that was successfully treated using an endovascular approach.
Metacognitive Skills, Academic Success and Exam Anxiety as the Predictors of Psychological Well-being

The purpose of this research was to investigate the predicting effect of high school students’ metacognitive skills, exam anxiety and academic success levels upon their psychological well-being in a provincial center with a medium-scale population in Eastern Anatolian Region. The research group included totally 251 high school students including 149 females and 102 males between 14 and 19 years old. Psychological Well-Being Scale, Metacognitive Skills Scale, and Personal Information Form were used in the research. According to the results, it was determined that there was a positive significant relationship between psychological well-being and metacognitive skills and academic success average, and a negative significant relationship between psychological well-being and exam anxiety. It was also specified that there was a negative significant relationship between exam anxiety and metacognitive skills, and a positive significant relationship between metacognitive skills and academic success average. Finally, metacognitive skills, exam anxiety and academic success average were noticed to be significant predictors of psychological well-being. In this model, it was revealed that success average explained =. 30 of psychological well-being, academic success average and metacognitive skill explained =. 46 of the variance together, and the triple model including academic success average, metacognitive skill and exam anxiety explained =. 57 of the variance.
InvisiSpec: Making Speculative Execution Invisible in the Cache Hierarchy

Hardware speculation offers a major surface for micro-architectural covert and side channel attacks. Unfortunately, defending against speculative execution attacks is challenging. The reason is that speculations destined to be squashed execute incorrect instructions, outside the scope of what programmers and compilers reason about. Further, any change to micro-architectural state made by speculative execution can leak information. In this paper, we propose InvisiSpec, a novel strategy to defend against hardware speculation attacks in multiprocessors by making speculation invisible in the data cache hierarchy. InvisiSpec blocks micro-architectural covert and side channels through the multiprocessor data cache hierarchy due to speculative loads. In InvisiSpec, unsafe speculative loads read data into a speculative buffer, without modifying the cache hierarchy. When the loads become safe, InvisiSpec makes them visible to the rest of the system. InvisiSpec identifies loads that might have violated memory consistency and, at this time, forces them to perform a validation step. We propose two InvisiSpec designs: one to defend against Spectre-like attacks and another to defend against futuristic attacks, where any speculative load may pose a threat. Our simulations with 23 SPEC and 10 PARSEC workloads show that InvisiSpec is effective. Under TSO, using fences to defend against Spectre attacks slows down execution by 74% relative to a conventional, insecure processor; InvisiSpec reduces the execution slowdown to only 21%. Using fences to defend against futuristic attacks slows down execution by 208%; InvisiSpec reduces the slowdown to 72%.
The non-lax question prosody of Akan

The paper investigates the acoustics of the final vowel in string-identical Yes-No questions and statements in Akan, a Kwa languages classified as belonging to the group of lax prosody languages. Several spectral measures and measure of periodicity are presented. Results show that the final vowels of Yes-No questions are not characterized by lax laryngeal settings. The final vowel of Yes-No questions is produced with more speech effort due to an additional tonal target at the right edge of the question (L%). The question prosody of Akan thus exhibits non-lax characteristics.