Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling users' web search behavior and their cognitive styles

Previous studies have shown that users' cognitive styles play an important role during web searching. However, only a limited number of studies have showed the relationship between cognitive styles and web search behavior. Most importantly, it is not clear which components of web search behavior are influenced by cognitive styles. This article examines the relationships between users' cognitive styles and their web searching and develops a model that portrays the relationship. The study uses qualitative and quantitative analyses based on data gathered from 50 participants. A questionnaire was utilized to collect participants' demographic information, and Riding's (1991) Cognitive Styles Analysis (CSA) test to assess their cognitive styles. Results show that users' cognitive styles influenced their information‐searching strategies, query reformulation behavior, web navigational styles, and information‐processing approaches. The user model developed in this study depicts the fundamental relationships between users' web search behavior and their cognitive styles. Modeling web search behavior with a greater understanding of users' cognitive styles can help information science researchers and information systems designers to bridge the semantic gap between the user and the systems. Implications of the research for theory and practice, and future work, are discussed.
Effect of Supplementation with Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Micronutrients on Learning and Behavior Problems Associated with Child ADHD

Methods: Various developmental problems including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been linked to biological deficiencies in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Additionally, there is evidence that symptoms may be reduced with PUFA supplementation. This study investigated effects of supplementation with PUFAs on symptoms typically associated with ADHD. Because nutrients work synergistically, additional effects of micronutrient supplementation were also investigated. A total of 132 Australian children aged 7 to 12 years with scores ≥2 SD above the population average on the Conners ADHD Index participated in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind intervention over 15 weeks, taking PUFAs alone, PUFAs + micronutrients, or placebo. Due to unreturned questionnaires, data were only available for 104 children. Results: Significant medium to strong positive treatment effects were found on parent ratings of core ADHD symptoms, inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, on the Conners Parent Rating Scale (CPRS) in both PUFA treatment groups compared with the placebo group; no additional effects were found with the micronutrients. After a one-way crossover to active supplements in all groups for a further 15 weeks, these results were replicated in the placebo group, and the treatment groups continued to show significant improvements on CPRS core symptoms. No significant effects were found on Conners Teacher Rating Scales. Conclusion: These results add to preliminary findings that ADHD-related problems with inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity might respond to treatment with PUFAs and that improvements may continue with supplementation extending to 30 weeks.
[Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in patients  undergoing cardiac surgery].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the incidence for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) in patients undergoing cardiac surgery and to evaluate the risk factors for the generation of HIT-antibody. METHODS A total of 315 patients undergoing cardiac surgery in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Xiangya Hospital between December, 2013 and July, 2014 were enrolled for this study. Among them, 120, 154 and 41 were for surgery of congenital heart defect, valve and coronary artery bypass graft, respectively. There were 170 male patients and 69 patients were under 18 years old. Platelet counts, HIT-antibody and concentration of platelet factor 4 (PF4) were tested before and after the surgery. Diagnosis of HIT was based on "4Ts" (Pretest Clinical Scoring System). RESULTS HIT was diagnosed in 11 patients (3.5%, 11/315). And thromboembolic events occurred in 2 of 11 patients with HIT. The positive ratio for HIT-antibody was 36.5% (115/315). The coronary artery disease patients had a higher incidence of HIT than that of either the valve disease or the congenital heart defect (17.1%, 7/41 versus 1.9%, 3/154 or 0.8%, 1/120; P<0.05). The congenital heart defect patients had a higher positive ratio for HIT-antibody than that of both the valve disease and the coronary artery disease. The valve disease patients had a higher positive ratio for HIT-antibody than that of the coronary artery disease (51.7%, 62/120 versus 30.5%, 47/154 versus 14.6%, 6/41; P<0.05). Major postoperative complications occurred more frequently in HIT patients (36.4%, 4/11 versus 10.5%, 32/304; P<0.05). Age was a risk factor for HIT (P=0.030, OR=1.083, 95% CI 1.008-1.163). Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) (P=0.037, OR=3.113, 95% CI 1.071-9.050) and age (P<0.001, OR=0.970, 95% CI 0.959-0.982) were risk factors for HIT-antibody. CONCLUSION The incidence of HIT is low during cardiac surgery, but HIT is a highly risk factor for the major postoperative complications. More attentions should be paid to these severe complications and the risk factors for HIT.
Regulation of the HIV Promoter/Enhancer

This unit describes adaptations of two molecular techniques that can be used to study the regulation of HIV expression. The first two protocols describe the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) assay, in which the CAT reporter gene is attached to an HIV‐1 promoter and CAT activity is measured as an indication of the promoter's activity. The basic protocol is rapid, simple, and suited to analyzing multiple samples. An alternate protocol describes an assay for CAT function that involves separating the reaction products by thin‐layer chromatography (TLC). The second basic protocol describes an electrophoretic mobility shift assay for detecting proteins present in cell extracts that can bind to the HIV‐1 LTR (long terminal repeat). Such studies are central to current HIV research because it is important to know what agents induce and inhibit (or “down‐regulate”) HIV transcription.
SLC26A4 Targeted to the Endolymphatic Sac Rescues Hearing and Balance in Slc26a4 Mutant Mice

Mutations of SLC26A4 are a common cause of human hearing loss associated with enlargement of the vestibular aqueduct. SLC26A4 encodes pendrin, an anion exchanger expressed in a variety of epithelial cells in the cochlea, the vestibular labyrinth and the endolymphatic sac. Slc26a4 Δ/Δ mice are devoid of pendrin and develop a severe enlargement of the membranous labyrinth, fail to acquire hearing and balance, and thereby provide a model for the human phenotype. Here, we generated a transgenic mouse line that expresses human SLC26A4 controlled by the promoter of ATP6V1B1. Crossing this transgene into the Slc26a4 Δ/Δ line restored protein expression of pendrin in the endolymphatic sac without inducing detectable expression in the cochlea or the vestibular sensory organs. The transgene prevented abnormal enlargement of the membranous labyrinth, restored a normal endocochlear potential, normal pH gradients between endolymph and perilymph in the cochlea, normal otoconia formation in the vestibular labyrinth and normal sensory functions of hearing and balance. Our study demonstrates that restoration of pendrin to the endolymphatic sac is sufficient to restore normal inner ear function. This finding in conjunction with our previous report that pendrin expression is required for embryonic development but not for the maintenance of hearing opens the prospect that a spatially and temporally limited therapy will restore normal hearing in human patients carrying a variety of mutations of SLC26A4.
Interconnection network switch architectures and combining strategies

We have studied a variety of switch architectures for use in the multistage interconnection network of a shared memory multiprocessor. In this paper, we investigate two techniques for improving network performance in the presence of contention: the use of multiple handshaking signals and the use of message combining. Simulation results are provided for implementation alternatives using switches of varying capabilities, in order to compare the effectiveness of different methods. We show that a practical combining switch design, the two-and-a-half-way combining switch, provides performance equivalent to that of other more expensive designs for systems with up to 1024 PEs. <<ETX>>
The Multi-Scale Network Landscape of Collaboration

Propelled by the increasing availability of large-scale high-quality data, advanced data modeling and analysis techniques are enabling many novel and significant scientific understanding of a wide range of complex social, natural, and technological systems. These developments also provide opportunities for studying cultural systems and phenomena—which can be said to refer to all products of human creativity and way of life. An important characteristic of a cultural product is that it does not exist in isolation from others, but forms an intricate web of connections on many levels. In the creation and dissemination of cultural products and artworks in particular, collaboration and communication of ideas play an essential role, which can be captured in the heterogeneous network of the creators and practitioners of art. In this paper we propose novel methods to analyze and uncover meaningful patterns from such a network using the network of western classical musicians constructed from a large-scale comprehensive Compact Disc recordings data. We characterize the complex patterns in the network landscape of collaboration between musicians across multiple scales ranging from the macroscopic to the mesoscopic and microscopic that represent the diversity of cultural styles and the individuality of the artists.
Parallel Algorithms for Term Matching

We present a new randomized parallel algorithm for term matching. Let n be the number of nodes of the directed acyclic graphs (dags) representing the terms to be matched, then our algorithm uses O(log2n) parallel time and M(n) processors, where M(n) is the complexity of n by n matrix multiplication. The number of processors is a significant improvement over previously known bounds. Under various syntactic restrictions on the form of the input dags only O(n2) processors are required in order to achieve deterministic O(log2n) parallel time. Furthermore, we reduce directed graph reachability to term matching using constant parallel time and O(n2) processors. This is strong evidence that in practice, taking M(n) to be n3, no deterministic algorithm can beat the processor bound of our randomized algorithm. We also improve the lower bound of [DKM] on the unification problem. We show that unification is logspace-complete in PTIME even if both input terms are linear, i.e., no variable appears more than once in each term.
Periodic Checkpointing for Strong Mobility of Orchestrated Web Services

Web service composition allows a fast and modular creation of applications by orchestrating several Web services. Such applications are frequently faced to performance and availability problems which may affect the partner Web services or the orchestration process itself. This requires mechanisms for adapting the architecture and the behaviour to this variable context. In this paper, we deal with strong mobility of orchestration processes as a mechanism for adaptation. We provide a solution that relies on checkpoint/rollback mechanisms. It is also based on source code transformation of the orchestration process. We apply our approach on WS-BPEL based orchestration processes. Hence, we establish a set of rules which transform WS-BEPL processes to equivalent mobile ones. When an adaptation is to be performed,the execution of some or all instances of a mobile process will be interrupted, and then they will be migrated to another node. After migration, the interrupted instances will resume starting from the last checkpoint. Experimentation results show the the efficiency of our approach and the low overhead it introduces.
Genetic Variation on Chromosome 6 Influences F Cell Levels in Healthy Individuals of African Descent and HbF Levels in Sickle Cell Patients

Fetal haemoglobin (HbF) is a major ameliorating factor in sickle cell disease. We investigated if a quantitative trait locus on chromosome 6q23 was significantly associated with HbF and F cell levels in individuals of African descent. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a 24-kb intergenic region, 33-kb upstream of the HBS1L gene and 80-kb upstream of the MYB gene, were typed in 177 healthy Afro-Caribbean subjects (AC) of approximately 7% European admixture, 631 healthy Afro-Germans (AG, a group of African and German descendents located in rural Jamaica with about 20% European admixture), 87 West African and Afro-Caribbean individuals with sickle cell anaemia (HbSS), as well as 75 Northern Europeans, which served as a contrasting population. Association with a tag SNP for the locus was detected in all four groups (AC, P = 0.005, AG, P = 0.002, HbSS patients, P = 0.019, Europeans, P = 1.5×10−7). The association signal varied across the interval in the African-descended groups, while it is more uniform in Europeans. The 6q QTL for HbF traits is present in populations of African origin and is also acting in sickle cell anaemia patients. We have started to distinguish effects originating from European and African ancestral populations in our admixed study populations.
The Effect of Drain Bias Stress on the Instability of Turned-OFF Amorphous HfInZnO Thin-Film Transistors Under Light Irradiation

A comprehensive study was done regarding stabilities under simultaneous stress of light and negative gate bias (V<sub>G</sub>)/positive drain bias (V<sub>D</sub>) in amorphous hafnium-indium-zinc-oxide thin-film transistors. Negative threshold voltage (V<sub>th</sub>) shift was observed in transfer characteristics after the stress. Through the consecutive stresses of (V<sub>G</sub> = -5V, V<sub>D</sub> = 15V,and V =0V) and (V<sub>G</sub> = -5 V, V<sub>D</sub> = 0 V, and V = 15 V) under light illumination, it is found that the negative V<sub>th</sub> shift is affected only by V<sub>G</sub>, because the drain current is determined by source-side energy barrier though drain-side energy band is locally lowered by V<sub>D</sub> induced drain-side trapped holes. Furthermore, the drain side trapped holes increase ON-current by reducing channel resistance after channel accumulation. Gate-to-drain capacitance (C<sub>GD</sub>) was measured before/after the (V<sub>G</sub> = -5 V, V<sub>D</sub> = 15 V, and V = 0 V) stress to clarify the presence and distribution of the drain-side trapped holes. From CG<sub>D</sub> stretching out after the stress, it is revealed that the trapped holes introduce an additional capacitance by responding to the accumulated electrons and the capacitance is distributed according to the vertical electric field distribution of the stress.
A Multi-Channel System Architecture for Banking

Financial institutions have increased dependence upon the technology solutions that enable their financial products and services. The proliferation of Internet technologies, mobile devices, and competition from international commerce have placed increased pressure up banking and financial institutions to ensure that competitive leadership is maintained. A key challenge facing banking and finance is how to adopt the new Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) within the organization in a timely manner whilst not disrupting the embedded solutions that provide core banking capabilities to operate the business. In this paper we propose a multi-channel architecture for financial institutions such as banking. The architecture is based upon our industry experience in developing multi-channel solutions in similar industries and is refined further here based upon our experiences in banking. The proposed architecture may be used to facilitate decisions on how best to deploy new and emerging multi-channel technologies within the banking environment, providing a means for assessing how to ensure effective use of existing investments in systems and technologies. The solution may be used as a blueprint for banking institutions in developing their multi-channel strategies; addressing the incumbent, emerging, and future channels of banking distribution.
Advanced receiver algorithms for MIMO wireless communications

We describe the VLSI implementation of MIMO detectors that exhibit close-to optimum error-rate performance, but still achieve high throughput at low silicon area. In particular, algorithms and VLSI architectures for sphere decoding (SD) and K-best detection are considered, and the corresponding trade-offs between uncoded error-rate performance, silicon area, and throughput are explored. We show that SD with a per-block run-time constraint is best suited for practical implementations
Natural Recovery and Protection from Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis: Contribution of CD4+CD25+ Regulatory Cells within the Central Nervous System1

Immune regulation of autoimmune disease can function at two sites: at the secondary lymphoid organs or in the target organ itself. In this study, we investigated the natural resolution of autoimmune pathology within the CNS using murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Recovery correlates with the accumulation of IL-10-producing CD4+CD25+ T cells within the CNS. These CD4+CD25+ cells represent as many as one in three of CD4+ cells in the CNS during recovery, they are FoxP3+ and express other markers associated with regulatory cells (CTLA-4, GITR, and αEβ7), and they have regulatory function ex vivo. Depletion of CD25+ cells inhibits the natural recovery from EAE. Also, depletion of CD25+ cells after recovery removes the resistance to reinduction of EAE observed in this model. Furthermore, passive transfer of CNS-derived CD4+CD25+ cells in low numbers provides protection from EAE in recipient mice. These are the first data demonstrating the direct involvement of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in the natural resolution of autoimmune disease within the target organ.
Task Uncertainty Can Account for Mixing and Switch Costs in Task-Switching

Cognitive control is required in situations that involve uncertainty or change, such as when resolving conflict, selecting responses and switching tasks. Recently, it has been suggested that cognitive control can be conceptualised as a mechanism which prioritises goal-relevant information to deal with uncertainty. This hypothesis has been supported using a paradigm that requires conflict resolution. In this study, we examine whether cognitive control during task switching is also consistent with this notion. We used information theory to quantify the level of uncertainty in different trial types during a cued task-switching paradigm. We test the hypothesis that differences in uncertainty between task repeat and task switch trials can account for typical behavioural effects in task-switching. Increasing uncertainty was associated with less efficient performance (i.e., slower and less accurate), particularly on switch trials and trials that afford little opportunity for advance preparation. Interestingly, both mixing and switch costs were associated with a common episodic control process. These results support the notion that cognitive control may be conceptualised as an information processor that serves to resolve uncertainty in the environment.
Agent implementation for modeling insider threat

Insider threat modeling focuses primarily on the individual and the prediction of an insider threat incident. The majority of these models are statistical that tend toward trend-projections using various regression models. The modeling presented in this paper engages an agent-based paradigm that is designed to explore how an agent interacts with other employees and the organization in an environment that grants the agent opportunity and access. This paper continues our research with a discussion of the implementation of the agent's decision-making in the context of emotional, rational, and social factors affecting agent disposition. We proffer that once the agent's disposition reaches or exceeds a personal threshold, the agent is disposed to become an active threat. Our refinement of the agent facilitates continued and more rounded discussion to our original research question: “How and when does a predisposed insider make the decision to become an active insider threat? ”
10Gb/s inverter based cascode transimpedance amplifier in 40nm CMOS technology

This work presents the design and performance of a 10Gbit/s transimpedance amplifier (TIA) implemented in a 40nm CMOS technology. The introduced TIA uses an inverter based cascode feedback (Inv-Cascode-TIA) with shunt feedback resistor. The TIA is followed by an one-stage single-ended common-source amplifier (CS), a two-stage differential amplifier and a 50Ω differential output driver to provide an interface to the measurement setup. The optical receiver shows an optical sensitivity of -21.4dBm for a BER= 10-12. The transimpedance amplifier achieves a transimpedance gain of 55. 3dBΩ, 8GHz bandwidth with 0.45pF total input capacitance. The power consumption of the TIA is 3.01mW and the complete chip dissipates 19.25mW for a 1.2V single supply voltage. The complete optical receiver has a 69. 2dBΩ transimpedance gain and 7GHz bandwidth.
Agent-Based Modelling of Social-Ecological Systems: Achievements, Challenges, and a Way Forward

Understanding social-ecological systems (SES) is crucial to supporting the sustainable management of resources. Agent-based modelling is a valuable tool to achieve this because it can represent the behaviour and interactions of organisms, human actors and institutions. Agent-based models (ABMs) have therefore already been widely used to study SES. However, ABMs of SES are by their very nature complex. They are therefore difficult to parameterize and analyse, which can limit their usefulness. It is time to critically reflect upon the current state-of-the-art to evaluate to what degree the potential of agent-based modelling for gaining general insights and supporting specific decision-making has already been utilized. We reviewed achievements and challenges by building upon developments in good modelling practice in the field of ecological modelling with its longer history. As a reference, we used the TRACE framework, which encompasses elements of model development, testing and analysis. We firstly reviewed achievements and challenges with regard to the elements of the TRACE framework addressed in reviews and method papers of social-ecological ABMs. Secondly, in a mini-review, we evaluated whether and to what degree the elements of the TRACE framework were addressed in publications on specific ABMs. We identified substantial gaps with regard to (1) communicating whether the models represented real systems well enough for their intended purpose and (2) analysing the models in a systematic and transparent way so that model output is not only observed but also understood. To fill these gaps, a joint effort of the modelling community is needed to foster the advancement and use of strategies such as participatory approaches, standard protocols for communication, sharing of source code, and tools and strategies for model design and analysis. Throughout our analyses, we provide specific recommendations and references for improving the state-of-the-art. We thereby hope to contribute to the establishment of a new advanced culture of agent-based modelling of SES that will allow us to better develop general theory and practical solutions.