Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Capturing Enculturation Awareness: Conscious Negotiations between Culture and the Self

Enculturation (cultural acquisition during identity development) has often been conceptualised as an unconscious process of cultural internalization. However, little research has explicitly examined the degree to which people are aware of cultural influences on the self (enculturation awareness) and how varying levels of awareness may influence the development of the self-concept. Drawing from extant qualitative research (Balanovic & Ward, 2013), the current investigation addressed this paucity through the development of the Enculturation Awareness Scale (EAS), which captures the degree to which individuals have consciously considered and come to understand cultural influences on the self. Using two distinct samples drawn from English speaking, multicultural nations (sample 1, New Zealand, N = 224; sample 2, New Zealand, Australia, USA, N = 317), the results present initial evidence for the validity and reliability of the EAS by demonstrating consistent relationships between the EAS and criterion measures of identity exploration (Cultural-Identity Exploration, Exploration in Depth, Exploration in Breadth, Ruminative Exploration), identity clarity (Cultural Identity Clarity, Self-Concept Clarity, Identity Coherence), and identity commitment (Identification with Commitment, Commitment Making). Furthermore, the emergent findings situate enculturation awareness within a nomological network of theoretically related constructs such as perceived agency, empathy and positive psychological outcomes. The development of the EAS has important implications for future theorising concerning the dynamic interplay between culture and the development of the self-concept.
Laser-based tracking of people and vehicles by multiple mobile robots

This paper presents laser-based tracking of moving objects conducted by a group of mobile robots located near one another. Each robot finds moving objects such as people, cars, and bicycles in its own laser-scanned images using a binarized occupancy-grid-based method. It then sends laser measurements related to the detected moving objects to a central server. The central server estimates the pose and size of the moving objects via the Kalman filter based on received measurements; it then feeds that information back to the robots. Rule-based and global-nearest-neighbor-based data associations are applied for matching of tracked objects and laser measurements in multitarget environments. In this cooperative tracking method, the central server collects the laser measurements from all robots; hence, the robots can always track invisible or partially invisible objects. The experimental results for two robots in an outdoor environment validate our tracking method.
Observability and policy optimization for mobile robots

This paper considers the use of abstract descriptions of motion control programs and of the environment, and explores some new problems of system theoretic interest that arise as a result. Wc study the problem of active localization for a mobile robot moving on a sparsely-described uncertain environment and show how that problem can be posed as that of observability of a finite automaton. We present algorithms (based on Hidden Markov Models) that answer the question of i) whether or not a representation of the environment (in the form of a directed graph) is observable, and ii) what is the shortest navigation policy that allows the robot to uniquely identify its location on the graph.
Generalized permutative representations of Cuntz algebras

We introduce representations of the Cuntz algebra $\con$ which are parameterized by sequences in the set of unit vectors in ${\bf C}^{N}$. These representations are natural generalizations of permutative representations by Bratteli-Jorgensen and Davidson-Pitts. We show their existence, irreducibility, equivalence, uniqueness of irreducible decomposition and decomposition formulae by using parameters of representations.
Comparative Effects of Selective T- and L-Type Calcium Channel Blockers in the Remnant Kidney Model

Abstract—We have previously reported that the dihydropyridine L-type calcium channel blockers (CCBs) have an adverse impact on glomerulosclerosis (GS) in the remnant kidney model despite significant blood pressure (BP) reduction, because of the concurrent deleterious effects on renal autoregulation. The effects of the CCB mibefradil, which is ≈10-fold more selective for T- than L-type channels, were compared with the L-type selective amlodipine. One week after 5/6 ablation, rats were left untreated or received mibefradil or amlodipine. Systolic BP was monitored by continuous radiotelemetry. At 7 weeks, proteinuria and percent GS were quantitated. Average BP was significantly and comparably reduced after mibefradil (141±3 mm Hg) and amlodipine (143±5 mm Hg) compared with untreated rats (188±5 mm Hg). Despite the reduction in BP, proteinuria and percent GS in the mibefradil- or amlodipine-treated groups were not significantly different from those in the untreated rats. Excellent correlations were observed between BP and GS in each group (r =0.74 to 0.85, P <0.02). However, the slope of the relationship between GS and BP (increase in percent GS/mm Hg increase in average BP) was made significantly steeper by both mibefradil (2.7+0.6) and amlodipine (1.9+0.6) as compared with untreated rats (0.7±0.2;P <0.01). Thus, at any given BP elevation, greater GS was seen in mibefradil- and amlodipine-treated rats as compared with untreated rats. Additional studies performed at 3 weeks after renal ablation showed that the ability to autoregulate renal blood flow, already impaired in untreated rats, was essentially abolished by both mibefradil and amlodipine, thus providing an explanation for the shift in the slope of the relationship between BP and GS. These data indicate that CCBs with selectivity for either the T- or L-type calcium channel fail to protect against GS despite significant BP reductions because of the similar adverse effects on renal autoregulation and BP transmission.
Towards Context-Enriched Trust Prediction : A Proposal

This short paper describes an early stage of research aiming at improving trust prediction in social networks. It builds on recent findings on observed correlation between trust and user similarity. A machine-learning approach to the trust prediction problem with use of contextual information is proposed and experimental work envisaged. An overview of the existing results is presented and it indicates that the proposed approach constitutes a novel combination of ideas and, as such, has a potential to contribute to the previous research in the area.
Opportunistic Spectral Usage: Bounds and a Multi-Band CSMA/CA Protocol

In this paper, we study the gains from opportunistic spectrum usage when neither sender or receiver are aware of the current channel conditions in different frequency bands. Hence to select the best band for sending data, nodes first need to measure the channel in different bands which takes time away from sending actual data. We analyze the gains from opportunistic band selection by deriving an optimal skipping rule, which balances the throughput gain from finding a good quality band with the overhead of measuring multiple bands. We show that opportunistic band skipping is most beneficial in low signal to noise scenarios, which are typically the cases when the node throughput in single-band (no opportunism) system is the minimum. To study the impact of opportunism on network throughput, we devise a CSMA/CA protocol, multi-band opportunistic auto rate (MOAR), which implements the proposed skipping rule on a per node pair basis. The proposed protocol exploits both time and frequency diversity, and is shown to result in typical throughput gains of 20% or more over a protocol which only exploits time diversity, opportunistic auto rate (OAR).
Neuronal control of fixation and fixational eye movements

Ocular fixation is a dynamic process that is actively controlled by many of the same brain structures involved in the control of eye movements, including the superior colliculus, cerebellum and reticular formation. In this article, we review several aspects of this active control. First, the decision to move the eyes not only depends on target-related signals from the peripheral visual field, but also on signals from the currently fixated target at the fovea, and involves mechanisms that are shared between saccades and smooth pursuit. Second, eye position during fixation is actively controlled and depends on bilateral activity in the superior colliculi and medio-posterior cerebellum; disruption of activity in these circuits causes systematic deviations in eye position during both fixation and smooth pursuit eye movements. Third, the eyes are not completely still during fixation but make continuous miniature movements, including ocular drift and microsaccades, which are controlled by the same neuronal mechanisms that generate larger saccades. Finally, fixational eye movements have large effects on visual perception. Ocular drift transforms the visual input in ways that increase spatial acuity; microsaccades not only improve vision by relocating the fovea but also cause momentary changes in vision analogous to those caused by larger saccades. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Movement suppression: brain mechanisms for stopping and stillness’.
Unsupervised Learning of Behavioural Patterns for Video-Surveillance

Unsupervised learning is a way to extract knowledge from noisy and complex sets of unlabeled data. The video-surveillance setting provides a potentially huge amount of unlabeled information on a given scene. In this paper we explore the use of spectral clustering to learn common behaviours from sets of dynamic events from a video-surveillance system. In particular we discuss how temporal data, characterized by variable lengths and an internal ordering, may be exploited effectively by means of appropriate representations and kernel functions. An experimental assessment on synthetic and real data guides us to an effective solution based on the use of strings.
Universal maximum power point tracking in wind-solar hybrid system for battery storage application

This paper proposes a universal control algorithm to harvest maximum possible power from wind-solar hybrid energy system for battery storage application. It consists of main and auxiliary battery storage system which has higher energy yield as compared to conventional energy storage system. The universal control strategy improves the performance of the hybrid system for large variations in wind velocity and solar radiation conditions with reduced complexity of the controller. Thus the system achieves higher reliability and better energy yield, especially in poor environmental conditions. The algorithm also maintains constant voltage at the DC bus. A separate boost and buck converters are used for the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and voltage regulation using the universal controller. Operation of the complete proposed system under different climatic conditions is verified through the PSCAD/EMTDC simulation studies.
Agent architecture: a survey on RoboCup-99 simulator teams

RoboCup is an attempt to foster AI and robotics research by providing a common task for evaluation of various theories, algorithms, and agent architectures. In the RoboCup simulation league, software agents play soccer games on an official soccer server over the network. When constructing these software agents, issues in area of agent architecture arise to satisfy the properties specified by agent theorists. This paper presents an overview of the agent architectures used in the simulator teams in RoboCup-99. Many types of agent architectures are reported and compared. We also provide some open questions for discussion and give some possible answers to be verified in the near future.
Impact of Hotel Online reviews Referring to Alternative Customer Benefits on Purchase Intention:Experiments based on Temporal Distance and Social Distance Scenarios

Study on the influence of online reviews is of both theoretical and practical importance for understanding consumer purchase behaviors.In the current study,two experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that the effect of temporal and social distances mediate the impact of online reviews on purchase intention.Experiment 1 adopted a 2(between-group: distant vs.near future)×2(in-group: reviews referring to identity vs.instrumental benefits) mixed design.We manipulated time distance by telling the participants who were in near future condition to imagine choosing a hotel tomorrow,and the participants who were in distant future were told to imagine choosing a hotel one year later.The results from ANOVA indicated that online reviews correspondent to identity benefit were more influential on consumers' distant future purchasing intention than near future purchasing intention;whereas online reviews correspondent to instrumental benefit showed contrary effect.Experiment 2 adopted a 2(between-group: far vs.close social distance) ×2(in-group: reviews referring to identity vs.instrumental benefits) mixed design.We manipulated social distance by telling the participants who were in far social distance that the reviewer was a retired person aged 65(different to participants),and the participants who were in close social distance were told that the reviewer was an undergraduate student aged 22(similar to participants). The results from ANOVA show that the significant impact of online reviews referring to identity benefit on consumers who were far from the reviewers(versus close to) in terms of social distances. Taken together,the results from the two experiments supported the hypotheses that the effect of temporal and social distances mediate the impact of online reviews on purchase intention.The findings of this study not only pave the way for further research into the impacts of online reviews on consumer behaviors,but also have implication for marketing practices.
A modest proposal for data interlinking evaluation

Data interlinking, i.e., finding links between different linked data sets, is similar to ontology matching in various respects and would benefit from widely accepted evaluations such as the Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative. Instance matching evaluation has been performed as part of OAEI since 2009. Yet, there has been so far few participants to IM@OAEI and there is still no largely acknowledged benchmark for data interlinking activites. In order to secure more participation, we analyse the specificities of data interlinking and propose diverse modalities for evaluating data interlinking.
AnimalsInduced by DNA Vaccination of Outbred T Cell Responses + Antigen-Specific CD4 Inoculation Site and Enhance Increase Dendritic Cell Recruitment to the Macrophage-Colony-Stimulating Factor Ligand and Granulocyte DNA-Encoded Fetal Liver Tyrosine Kinase 3

DNA-based immunization is a contemporary strategy for developing vaccines to prevent infectious diseases in animals and humans. Translating the efﬁcacy of DNA immunization demonstrated in murine models to the animal species that represent the actual populations to be protected remains a signiﬁcant challenge. We tested two hypotheses directed at enhancing DNA vaccine efﬁcacy in outbred animals. The ﬁrst hypothesis, that DNA-encoding fetal liver tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (Flt3L) and GM-CSF increases dendritic cell (DC) recruitment to the immunization site, was tested by intradermal inoculation of calves with plasmid DNA encoding Flt3L and GM-CSF followed by quantitation of CD1 (cid:1) DC. Peak DC recruitment was detected at 10–15 days postinoculation and was signiﬁcantly greater ( p < 0.05) in calves in the treatment group as compared with control calves inoculated identically, but without Flt3L and GM-CSF. The second hypothesis, that DNA encoding Flt3L and GM-CSF enhances immunity to a DNA vector-expressed Ag, was tested by analyzing the CD4 (cid:1) T lymphocyte response to Anaplasma marginale major surface protein 1a (MSP1a). Calves immunized with DNA-expressing MSP1a developed strong CD4 (cid:1) T cell responses against A. marginale , MSP1a, and speciﬁc MHC class II DR-restricted MSP1a epitopes. Administration of DNA-encoding Flt3L and GM-CSF before MSP1a DNA vaccination signiﬁcantly increased the population of Ag-speciﬁc effector/memory cells in PBMC and signiﬁcantly enhanced MSP1a-speciﬁc CD4 (cid:1) T cell proliferation and IFN- (cid:2) secretion as compared with MHC class II DR -matched calves vaccinated identically but without Flt3L and GM-CSF. These results support use of these growth factors in DNA vaccination and speciﬁcally indicate their applicability for vaccine testing in outbred animals. The Journal of Immunology, 2002, 169: 3837–3846.
I serious game per sostenere l’empowerment di giovani diabetici: il caso “Tako Dojo”

This paper examines whether and how serious games for health can support patient empowerment and healthcare behaviors. This study examines the case of diabetes and tests the following hypotheses: 1) playing serious games increases the empowerment of diabetics; 2) this empowerment positively influences therapeutic adherence; 3) playing serious games can positively influence the health behaviors of diabetics. To test our hypotheses, a group of young diabetics from Puglia in Italy (N = 124; Mage = 14 years old, SD = 2.14) played a serious game dedicated to diabetes management that was developed in the Tako Dojo project. Following gameplay, the participants filled in a questionnaire on user experience, diabetes empowerment, therapeutic adherence and socio-demographics. The collected data were subjected to correlation and multiple regression analysis. The results confirmed our hypotheses and open the way for a reappraisal of the role of serious games in enhancing the self-management of healthcare behaviors.
BIOTECHNOLOGICALLY RELEVANT ENZYMES AND PROTEINS Biochemical and structural characterization of a thermostable β-glucosidase from Halothermothrix orenii for galacto-oligosaccharide synthesis

Lactose is a major disaccharide by-product from the dairy industries, and production of whey alone amounts to about 200 million tons globally each year. Thus, it is of particular interest to identify improved enzymatic processes for lactose utilization. Microbial β-glucosidases (BGL) with significant β-galactosidase (BGAL) activity can be used to convert lactose to glucose (Glc) and galactose (Gal), and most retaining BGLs also synthesize more complex sugars from the monosaccharides by transglycosylation, such as galactooligosaccharides (GOS), which are prebiotic compounds that stimulate growth of beneficial gut bacteria. In this work, a BGL from the thermophilic and halophilic bacterium Halothermothrix orenii, HoBGLA, was characterized biochemically and structurally. It is an unspecific β-glucosidase with mixed activities for different substrates and prominent activity with various galactosidases such as lactose. We show that HoBGLA is an attractive candidate for industrial lactose conversion based on its high activity and stability within a broad pH range (4.5–7.5), with maximal β-galactosidase activity at pH 6.0. The temperature optimum is in the range of 65–70 °C, andHoBGLA also shows excellent thermostability at this temperature range. The main GOS products from HoBGLA transgalactosylation are β-D-Galp-(1→6)-D-Lac (6GALA) and β-D-Galp-(1→3)-D-Lac (3GALA), indicating that D-lactose is a better galactosyl acceptor than either of the monosaccharides. To evaluate ligand binding and guide GOS modeling, crystal structures of HoBGLAwere determined in complex with thiocellobiose, 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose and glucose. The two major GOS products, 3GALA and 6GALA, were modeled in the substrate-binding cleft of wild-type HoBGLA and shown to be favorably accommodated.
Practical Considerations for Sensor Network Algorithms

Many researchers from different backgrounds have found interesting research challenges that arise from the physical constraints and envisaged applications in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). The WSN community that has formed over the years is divided into two sub-communities: the systems sub-community and the theory sub-community. However, there seems to be no connection between the two. Algorithms developed from a theory perspective are rarely implemented on real hardware. In this paper we identify the most important reasons why these algorithms are disregarded by the systems community, and provide pointers to remedy the lack of connection.
A COMMON TRENDS MODEL : IDENTIFICATION , ESTIMATIONAND INFERENCEANDERS WARNEAbstract

Common trends models provide a useful tool for studying growth and business cycle phenomena in a joint framework (see King, Plosser, Stock and Watson (1991)). In this paper we study the problem of how to estimate and analyse a common stochastic trends model for an n dimensional time series which is cointegrated of order (1,1) with r < n cointegration vectors. Identiication of k = n ? r permanent (trend) and r transitory innovations is discussed in terms of impulse responses and variance decompositions. Finally, we derive analytical expressions of the asymptotic distributions for estimates of these functions, thereby making formal hypothesis testing and inference possible within this framework.
Video-based on-line handwriting recognition

The use of handwriting provides a natural way of interacting with small portable computers. However, in order to capture handwritten text. online, special input devices are necessary. Therefore, M.E. Munich & P. Perona (1996) proposed to use visual input for pen-based computers. Writing can then be performed on ordinary paper, and pen trajectories are automatically extracted from image sequences recorded during the writing process. On the basis of this work, we developed a complete video-based online handwriting recognition system. We will present the techniques applied for pen tracking, pre-processing, feature extraction, and statistical modeling and recognition. Evaluation results on a writer-independent unconstrained handwriting recognition task demonstrate that the inherent limitations of the video-based approach can be compensated using robust modeling combined with adaptation techniques.
Duplication of the gemellus superior and misplacement of gemelli-obturator internus complex

Bilateral duplication of the gemellus superior and misplacement of the duplicated gemellus superior, obturator internus and gemellus inferior muscles of a 67-year-old Caucasian male cadaver were noted during a routine dissection. Inferior to the piriformis muscle the gemellus superior was properly located. The gemellus superior did not run along the length of the obturator internus tendon as normally depicted. The duplicated gemellus superior, obturator internus and inferior gemellus were found directly on the superior surface of the quadratus femoris. These muscles demonstrated a common origin and insertion. No other variation was noted in the gluteal region. Awareness of the duplicated gemellus superior, obturator internus and gemellus inferior misplacement can be linked to clinical muscle weakness of lateral hip rotation and abduction of the femur. This anatomical variation can benefit surgeons, physical therapists, and radiologists to competently assist patients. © Int J Anat Var (IJAV). 2013; 6: 182–183.