Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting Imaginative Play in Preschool Children

as original problem solving with ideational fluency as an essential component (Guilford, 1956, 1967; Mednick, 1962; Wallach & Kogan, 1965). These investigators and others (Getzels and Jackson, 1962; Torrance, 1974) developed measures of original problem-solving based on ideational fluency. These measures are frequently used in research designed to validate the aforementioned formulations of creativity (Milgram, Milgram, Rosenbloom, & Rabkin, 1978; Ward, 1968, 1969). In these tests the verbal and visual stimuli are considered the problems and the subjects’verbal responses the solutions. Considerable evidence for the
Neuronal-Specific Roles of the Survival Motor Neuron Protein: Evidence From Survival Motor Neuron Expression Patterns in the Developing Human Central Nervous System

Despite recent data on the cellular function of the survival motor neuron (SMN) gene, the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) disease gene, the role of the SMN protein in motor neurons and hence in the pathogenesis of SMA is still unclear. The spatial and temporal expression of SMN in neurons, particularly during development, could help in verifying the hypotheses on the SMN protein functions so far proposed. We have therefore investigated the expression and subcellular localization of the SMN protein in the human central nervous system (CNS) during ontogenesis with immunocytochemical, confocal immunofluorescence, and Western blot experiments using a panel of anti-SMN antibodies recognizing the full-length SMN protein. The experiments not only revealed the early SMN expression in all neurons, but also demonstrated the progressive shift in SMN subcellular localization from mainly nuclear to cytoplasmic and then to axons during CNS maturation. This finding was present in selected neuronal cell populations and it was particularly conspicuous in motor neurons. Our data support the idea of a specific role for SMN in axons, which becomes predominant in the ontogenetic period encompassing axonogenesis and axonal sprouting. In addition, the asymmetric SMN staining demonstrated in the germinative neuroepithelium suggests a possible role for SMN in neuronal migration and/or differentiation.
GOAT PRODUCTION UNDER HARSH ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS : THE PHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS AND THE CHALLENGE

Goats living in harsh environments represent a climax in the capacity of domestic ruminants to adjust to such areas. This ability is multifactorial. Low body mass and low metabolic requirements of goats can be regarded as important assets in minimising their maintenance and water requirements in areas where water sources are widely distributed and food sources are limited by their quantity and quality. An ability to reduce metabolism allows goats to survive even after prolonged periods of severe limited food availability. A skilful grazing behaviour and efficient digestive system enable goats to attain maximal food intake and maximal food utilisation in a given condition. There is a positive interaction between the better recycling rate of urea and a better digestion of such food in desert goats. The rumen plays an important role in the evolved adaptations by serving as a huge fermentation vat and water reservoir. The water stored in the rumen is utilised during dehydration, and the rumen serves as a container which accommodates the ingested water upon rehydration. The rumen, salivary glands and kidney coordinate functions in the regulation of water intake and water distribution following acute dehydration and rapid rehydration. Goats in the tropics base their diet when possible on tree-leaves and shrubs (browse) which ensure a reliable and steady supply of food all year around, albeit, of a low to medium quality. Some of the physiological features of ruminants defined as intermediate feeders are large salivary glands, large absorptive area of their rumen epithelium, and a capacity to rapidly change the volume of the foregut in response to environmental changes. These features are most likely responsible for the goat's superior digestion capacity. Although goats and sheep are mixed feeders, under mixed forage conditions goats consume a larger proportion of browse than sheep and use it more efficiently. Unlike sheep and cattle, which do not eat leafy material during the green season, browse constitutes at least 40% of the forage selected by goats at all times. This pattern of diet selection, however, is not compatible with maximizing milk yield. Indeed, selection of goats by men in harsh Mediterranean environments was most certainly based on breeding success and lifetime performance. Most browse species in the Mediterranean are dicotyledons that are high in tanninferous phenolic substances. Recent studies have shown that polyethylene glycol (PEG), a polymer that can bind tannins irreversibly over a wide range of pH, is very efficient in neutralising the negative effects of tannins in ruminant feedstuffs. PEG has improved the performance of grazing goats and sheep in a seemingly
Survival of Neural Progenitors Allografted into the CNS of Immunocompetent Recipients is Highly Dependent on Transplantation Site

Allografts continue to be used in clinical neurotransplantation studies; hence, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms that govern allograft tolerance. We investigated the impact of transplantation site within the brain on graft survival. Mouse [Friend leukemia virus, strain B (FVB)] glial precursors, transfected with luciferase, were injected (3 × 105) into the forceps minor (FM) or striatum (STR). Immunodeficient rag2−/- and immuno-competent BALB/c mice were used as recipients. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed that cells were precisely deposited at the selected coordinates. The graft viability was assessed noninvasively with biolumi-nescent imaging (BLI) for a period of 16 days. Regardless of implantation site, all grafts (n = 10) deposited in immunodeficient animals revealed excellent survival. In contrast, immunocompetent animals only accepted grafts at the STR site (n = 10), whereas all the FM grafts were rejected (n = 10). To investigate the factors that led to rejection of FM grafts, with acceptance of STR grafts, another group of animals (n = 19) was sacrificed during the prerejection period, on day 5. Near-infrared fluorescence imaging with IRDye 800CW–polyethylene glycol probe displayed similar blood–brain barrier disruption at both graft locations. The morphological distribution of FM grafts was cylindrical, parallel to the needle track, whereas cells transplanted into the STR accumulated along the border between the STR and the corpus callosum. There was significantly less infiltration by both innate and adaptive immune cells in the STR grafts, especially along the calloso-striatal border. With allograft survival being dependent on the transplantation site, the anatomical coordinates of the graft target should always be taken into account as it may determine the success or failure of therapy.
Different genetic requirements for repair of replication-born double-strand breaks by sister-chromatid recombination and break-induced replication

Homologous recombination (HR) is the major mechanism used to repair double-strand breaks (DSBs) that result from replication, but a study of repair of DSBs specifically induced during S-phase is lacking. Using an inverted-repeat assay in which a DSB is generated by the encountering of the replication fork with nicks, we can physically detect repair by sister-chromatid recombination (SCR) and intra-chromatid break-induced replication (IC-BIR). As expected, both events depend on Rad52, but, in contrast to previous data, both require Rad59, suggesting a prominent role of Rad59 in repair of replication-born DSBs. In the absence of Rad51, SCR is severely affected while IC-BIR increases, a phenotype that is also observed in the absence of Rad54 but not of its paralog Rdh54/Tid1. These data are consistent with SCR occurring by Rad51-dependent mechanisms assisted by Rad54, and indicate that in the absence of strand exchange-dependent SCR, breaks can be channeled to IC-BIR, which works efficiently in the absence of Rad51. Our study provides molecular evidence for inversions between repeats occurring by BIR followed by single-strand annealing (SSA) in the absence of strand exchange.
Pattern and distribution of myocardial fibrosis in systemic sclerosis: a delayed enhanced magnetic resonance imaging study.

OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence and pattern of myocardial fibrosis as detected by delayed enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DE-MRI) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and to evaluate a possible association between myocardial fibrosis and cardiac arrhythmias. METHODS Forty-one patients with SSc underwent 24-hour Holter monitoring, Doppler echocardiography, and DE-MRI following gadolinium administration. RESULTS Technically acceptable DE-MRIs were obtained in 36 patients with SSc. Enhancement on DE-MRI, consistent with myocardial fibrosis, was observed in 24 of these patients (66%), and it was invariably midwall with a linear pattern, mostly involving basal and midcavity segments of the left ventricle. The volume of enhancement (total volume percentage index [TVPI]) did not differ between patients with diffuse SSc and those with limited SSc (mean +/- SD 1.46 +/- 1.73% versus 1.44 +/- 1.77%; P = 0.98). Patients with a long duration (> or = 15 years) of Raynaud's phenomenon had a greater number of enhancing segments (mean +/- SD 6.55 +/- 4.93 versus 2.96 +/- 3.46; P = 0.017) and a greater TVPI (mean +/- SD 2.44 +/- 1.97% versus 1.02 +/- 1.43%; P = 0.02) than those with a duration of Raynaud's phenomenon <15 years. Nineteen patients with SSc (53%) had abnormal Holter study results. Compared with patients with normal Holter study results, those with abnormal results had a greater number of enhancing segments (mean +/- SD 5.4 +/- 4.8 versus 2.5 +/- 2.9; P < 0.05) and a greater TVPI (mean +/- SD 2.1 +/- 1.9% versus 0.8 +/- 1.2%; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION DE-MRI can identify myocardial fibrosis in a significant percentage of patients with SSc and may be a useful noninvasive tool for determining cardiac involvement.
Performance Estimate and Simultaneous Application of Multiple Surrogates

A typical approach in surrogate-based modeling is to assess the performance of alternative surrogate models and select the model that performs the best. In this paper, we extend the utility of an ensemble of surrogates to: i) identify regions of high uncertainties at locations where predictions of surrogates widely differ, and ii) provide a more robust approximation approach. We explore the possibility of using the best surrogate or a weighted average surrogate model instead of individual surrogate models. The weights associated with each surrogate model are determined based on the errors in surrogates. We demonstrate the advantages of an ensemble of surrogates using analytical problems and an engineering problem of radial turbine design for space launch vehicle. We show that for a single problem the choice of the surrogate can be substantially influenced by the design of experiments.
Seminars in medicine of the Beth Israel Hospital, Boston. Platelet-endothelium interactions.

The recognition that the restoration of patency to occluded blood vessels can improve clinical outcomes has led to intense interest in the formation and dissolution of platelet thrombi and in the pathobiologic features of vascular repair after an injury. To study these events in an experimental model, many investigators challenge isolated platelets or endothelium with stimuli that represent physiologic or pathologic mediators, such as thrombin or adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and find that these agonists cause the generation of intracellular mediators that can markedly alter the function of each cell type. A critical facet of thrombus formation and vascular response to .
Activation of specific neuronal networks leads to different seizure onset types

Ictal events occurring in temporal lobe epilepsy patients and in experimental models mimicking this neurological disorder can be classified, based on their onset pattern, into low‐voltage, fast versus hypersynchronous onset seizures. It has been suggested that the low‐voltage, fast onset pattern is mainly contributed by interneuronal (γ‐aminobutyric acidergic) signaling, whereas the hypersynchronous onset involves the activation of principal (glutamatergic) cells.
LIMK1 Regulates Long-Term Memory and Synaptic Plasticity via the Transcriptional Factor CREB

ABSTRACT Deletion of the LIMK1 gene is associated with Williams syndrome, a unique neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by severe defects in visuospatial cognition and long-term memory (LTM). However, whether LIMK1 contributes to these deficits remains elusive. Here, we show that LIMK1-knockout (LIMK1−/−) mice are drastically impaired in LTM but not short-term memory (STM). In addition, LIMK1−/− mice are selectively defective in late-phase long-term potentiation (L-LTP), a form of long-lasting synaptic plasticity specifically required for the formation of LTM. Furthermore, we show that LIMK1 interacts and regulates the activity of cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB), an extensively studied transcriptional factor critical for LTM. Importantly, both L-LTP and LTM deficits in LIMK1−/− mice are rescued by increasing the activity of CREB. These results provide strong evidence that LIMK1 deletion is sufficient to lead to an LTM deficit and that this deficit is attributable to CREB hypofunction. Our study has identified a direct gene-phenotype link in mice and provides a potential strategy to restore LTM in patients with Williams syndrome through the enhancement of CREB activity in the adult brain.
Fourier-based multi-references shape prior for region-based active contours

In this paper we intend to present an original approach that incorporates geometric shape prior into region-based active contours. A Fourier-based shape alignment method is used to define prior knowledge from a reference shape. A set of complete and stable invariants to Euclidean transformations computed using Fourier transform on contours is used to choose the most suitable reference shape to the evolving contour. The proposed energy is then invariant with respect to rigid transformations. Experimental results show the ability of the geometric shape prior to constrain an evolving curve meet target shape and show the new method benefits on segmentation results in presence of occlusion, clutter and noise.
On-line control of continuous walking of wearable robot coordinating with user's voluntary motion

In this paper, we propose a cooperative control of a wearable robot for paraplegics. The control system adjusts the stride length and walking velocity of a robot according to user's voluntary movement while generating a continuous walking pattern. We assume that the desired stride length and walking speed correspond to the preceding motion of a walking aid (walker), and the motion of the walker by the user was measured by a laser range sensor and an accelerometer. The continuous walking pattern during a step was planned by optimization of joint trajectories under inequality conditions. To perform continuous walking, the desired trajectory is required before the walker movement. To adjust the foot placement according to the walker movement, the desired walking pattern in the late swing phase is replanned. For the latest movement distance of the walker, the posture at heel strike is modified by Newton-like iterative calculations. We confirmed that a normal subject could walk continuously with a wearable robot controlled by our system while changing the stride length and walking speed.
ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC MEASUREMENT OF LEFT VENTRICULAR HYPERTROPHY IN UNTREATED ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION

1. The prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in human essential hypertension is uncertain. Echocardiography was used to calculate left ventriuclar wall thickness (WT), relative wall thickness (t/r) and left ventricular mass (LVM) in 52 normal subjects, 30 patients with borderline hypertension and 33 untreated patients with essential hypertension.
Image ranking based on user browsing behavior

Ranking of images is difficult because many factors determine their importance (e.g., popularity, quality, entertainment value, context, etc.). In social media platforms, ranking also depends on social interactions and on the visibility of the images both inside and outside those platforms. In this context, the application of standard ranking methods is not clearly understood, and neither are the subtleties associated with taking into account social interaction, internal, and external factors. In this paper, we use a large Flickr dataset and investigate these factors by performing an in-depth analysis of several ranking algorithms using both internal (i.e., within Flickr) and external (i.e., links from outside of Flickr) factors. We analyze rankings given by common metrics used in image retrieval (e.g., number of favorites), and compare them with metrics based on page views (e.g., time spent, number of views). In addition, we represent users' navigation by a graph and combine session models with some of these metrics, comparing with PageRank and BrowseRank. Our experiments show significant differences between the rankings, providing insights on the impact of social interactions, internal, and external factors in image ranking.
`We are Dealing with People Whose Origins One can Clearly Tell Just by Looking': Critical Discourse Analysis and the Study of Neo-Racism in Contemporary Austria

This article focuses on the discourse of neo-racism towards foreigners in Austria between 1989 and 1991. It summarizes the preliminary results of an ongoing interdisciplinary project, and offers illustrative examples of official discourse (politicians), newspaper texts and anonymous conversations on the street recorded during the Waldheim campaign of 1987 and the Viennese municipal election of 1991. The study suggests that the neo-racist discourse occasioned by the population migrations after the collapse of communist Eastern Europe not only targets the specific Eastern European ethnic outgroups, but is elastic enough to combine these prejudices with those against other existing traditional and functionally determined outgroups. In the example cited, prejudices against Jews, Turks and bicycle riders merge into a generic neo-racist discourse.
Gestures by advanced Spanish-English second-language learners

We examined the role of deictic (i.e., point) and symbolic (i.e., imagistic) gestures in advanced Spanish-English second-language learners to determine whether the role of gestures is consistent with that of intermediate second-language learners (i.e., Gullberg, 1998). Participants (10 L1 Spanish and 10 L1 English) watched two short cartoons and re-told the stories in both of their languages to native-speaking listeners who had never seen the film. Gestures were coded and analyzed in relation to word types from the verbal narratives. We found that participants used more deictic gestures in their second language, similar to the trend noted in previous research. Contrary to research with low or intermediate proficiency participants, however, symbolic gestures did not appear related to proficiency. Possible reasons for the differences in gesture use by proficiency are discussed.
Globalisation and internationalisation of teacher education: a comparative case study of Canada and Greater China

This article begins with a brief overview of the relationship between globalisation and the internationalisation of higher education. This serves as a backdrop for the focus of the article, which is the internationalisation of teacher education. In order to see the diverse ways that teacher education programmes have been internationalised over the past 15 years, a case study comparing internationalisation initiatives in Greater China and Canada is presented. This comparative case study demonstrates how different globalising processes influence various forms of internationalisation. Comparison also sheds light on the importance of attending not only to broader, global processes, but specific, local contextual factors. Rather than consider internationalisation as one set of practices that have been taken up globally, this article suggests that there are many different forms of internationalisation in teacher education that are influenced by both global and local contexts. In this respect, the study moves us towards a more nuanced and complex understanding of how teacher education institutions across diverse settings are being internationalised in the twenty-first century.
Dependency-Based Energy-Efficient Scheduling for Homogeneous Multi-core Clusters

Computer clusters bring high performance as well as large energy consumption. Energy-efficient scheduling strategies for parallel applications running on a homogeneous cluster can perform efficiently in conserving energy. In order to achieve the goal of optimizing performance and energy efficiency in clusters, we propose an energy-efficient Dependency-based task Grouping (DG) method to assign parallel tasks under precedence constrains to multi-core processors. Dependency degree is defined as the sum of the reduced communication time by assigning task paths with much intercommunication to one processor and the execution time of unexecuted redundant tasks on the same node. Our algorithms aim at reducing energy consumption and improving resource utilization by assigning the task paths with highest dependency degrees to one processor. Combining three existing schedule algorithms-TDS (Task Duplication Scheduling), EAD (Energy-Aware Duplication) and PEBD (Performance-Energy Balanced Duplication) with the DG method, we propose three improved algorithms-TDS-DG, EAD-DG and PEBD-DG. Compared with the three existing algorithms, the improved algorithms can save energy and improve computing resource utilization by 55.4% and 71.2% on average, respectively, at the cost of a slightly 2% performance degradation.
Science diaries: a brief writing intervention to improve motivation to learn science

This study investigated the hypothesis that prompting students to self-assess their interest and understanding of science concepts and activities would increase their motivation in science classes. Students were randomly assigned to an experimental condition that wrote self-assessments of their competence and interest in science lessons or a control condition that wrote summaries of those same lessons. Writing activities were 10 min long and were given approximately once a week for eighteen weeks. Student motivation was assessed via self-report surveys for achievement goals and interest in science before and after the intervention. Students in the experimental condition showed higher endorsement of mastery goals and reported greater situational interest in science topics after the intervention compared to students who summarised the lessons. Increases in situational interest predicted higher individual interest in the domain. Results indicate an instructional practice requiring just 3 hours out of a semester of instruction was sufficient to achieve these effects on motivation in science classes.
Context-based ranking in folksonomies

With the advent of Web 2.0 tagging became a popular feature. People tag diverse kinds of content, e.g. products at Amazon, music at Last.fm, images at Flickr, etc. Clicking on a tag enables the users to explore related content. In this paper we investigate how such tag-based queries, initialized by the clicking activity, can be enhanced with automatically produced contextual information so that the search result better fits to the actual aims of the user. We introduce the SocialHITS algorithm and present an experiment where we compare different algorithms for ranking users, tags, and resources in a contextualized way.