Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evidence for an attraction account of closing-in behaviour

“Closing-in behaviour” (CIB) is a phenomenon observed on copying and imitation tasks, in which the copy is made inappropriately close to or on top of the model. CIB is classified clinically as a manifestation of constructional apraxia (CA), but its underlying causes are not understood. Compensation hypotheses propose that CIB is a strategic adaptation to underlying deficits in visuospatial and/or memory functions. The attraction hypothesis suggests that CIB reflects a primitive default behaviour in which the acting hand is drawn towards the focus of visual attention. We tested between these hypotheses in a 62-year-old woman with moderate Alzheimer's disease precipitating CA and apraxia, who showed marked CIB in graphic copying and gesture imitation. We presented two dual tasks: In the first, a straight-line drawing task was combined with a letter-reading task; in the second, simple gesture production was combined with a letter-reading task. In each case, the patient's productions deviated markedly towards the location of the reading task. These data provide strong support for the attraction hypothesis and show that CIB is not specific to copying.
Variational Principles in L ∞ with Applications to Antiplane Shear and Plane Stress Plasticity

The yield set of a polycrystal is characterized by means of a variational principle in L∞ obtained via Γ-convergence of a class of power-law functionals in the setting of A-quasiconvexity. Our results apply, in particular, to the model cases of antiplane shear and plane stress plasticity. 2000 AMS Mathematics Classification Numbers: 35F99, 35J70, 49K20, 49S05, 74C05
Σ like Term in Pion Electroproduction near Threshold Typeset Using Revt E X

Sum of the time component of Σ term and the induced pseudo scalar term in axial current is shown to be the t-channel pion pole in Born terms for pion electroproduction near threshold. We also show that this Σ term represents the charged pseudo scalar quark density matrix elements in nucleon and manifests itself in the L0 amplitude on this reaction. PACS numbers : 25.20. Lj, 25.30. Rw, 25.80. Dj Typeset using REVTEX Present Adress : Department of Physics, Yonsei University, Seoul, 120-749, Korea e.mail : cheoun@phya.yonsei. ac.kr 1
Visual odometry using optic flow for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Use of computer vision on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) has been a promising area of research given its potential applications in exploration, surveillance and security. Localization in indoor, unknown environments can become increasingly difficult due to irregularities or complete absence of GPS. Advent of small, light and high performance cameras and computing hardware has enabled design of autonomous systems. In this paper, the optic flow principle is employed for estimating two dimensional motion of the UAV using a downward facing monocular camera. Combining it with an ultrasonic sensor, UAV's three dimensional position is estimated. Position estimation and trajectory tracking have been performed and verified in a laboratory setup. All computations are carried out onboard the UAV using a miniature single board computer.
Representing nested semantic information in a linear string of text using XML

XML has been widely adopted as an important data interchange language. The structure of XML enables sharing of data elements with variable degrees of nesting as long as the elements are grouped in a strict tree-like fashion. This requirement potentially restricts the usefulness of XML for marking up written text, which often includes features that do not properly nest within other features. We encountered this problem while marking up medical text with structured semantic information from a Natural Language Processor. Traditional approaches to this problem separate the structured information from the actual text mark up. This paper introduces an alternative solution, which tightly integrates the semantic structure with the text. The resulting XML markup preserves the linearity of the medical texts and can therefore be easily expanded with additional types of information.
Vitamin D insufficiency in a population of healthy western Canadians.

BACKGROUND People with low levels of vitamin D and its metabolites are at increased risk for osteoporotic fractures. We wished to ascertain levels of vitamin D in a representative sample of adult western Canadians, to help assess the level of risk. We evaluated the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency, defined as 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] less than 40 nmol/L, and seasonal variations in 25(OH)D, parathyroid hormone and related biochemical indices in a community-dwelling population of healthy Canadians living in Calgary (latitude 51 degrees 07'N). METHODS During calendar year 1999, we collected fasting overnight blood samples every 3 months from 60 men and 128 women (age range 27 to 89 years) who had volunteered to participate in another study. We used commercial radioimmunoassay kits to measure calciotrophic hormones and other biochemical indices. Regression models for longitudinal data were used to assess the effect of season and other potential predictors on individual parameters. RESULTS For a total of 64 participants (34%), vitamin D insufficiency, defined as 25(OH)D less than 40 nmol/L, was recorded at least once out of the 4 sampling times. After adjustment for age, body mass index and holiday travel, we observed the anticipated rise in serum 25(OH)D from a mean of 57.3 (standard deviation [SD] 21.3) nmol/L in the winter to 62.9 (SD 28.8) nmol/L in spring (p = 0.001) and 71.6 (SD 23.6) nmol/L in summer (p < 0.001), with a subsequent decline to 52.9 (SD 17.2) nmol/L in the fall (p = 0.008). The anticipated inverse relation between 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone was not consistently observed: after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index and serum calcium, serum levels of parathyroid hormone did decrease significantly, from 39.5 (SD 18.8) ng/L in winter to 36.3 (SD 17.8) ng/L in summer (p = 0.001), but they continued to decline to 34.5 (SD 17.3) ng/L in the fall (p < 0.001). There was no association between 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone (p = 0.21). INTERPRETATION We documented a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency, which warrants consideration of dietary vitamin D supplementation.
HerMES: SPIRE/Sub-millimetre Emission from Radio Selected AGN

We examine the rest-frame far-infrared emission from powerful radio sources with 1.4GHz luminosity densities of 25<=log(L_1.4/WHz^-1)<=26.5 in the extragalactic Spitzer First Look Survey field. We combine Herschel/SPIRE flux densities with Spitzer/IRAC and MIPS infrared data to obtain total (8-1000um) infrared luminosities for these radio sources. We separate our sources into a moderate, 0.4<z<0.9, and a high, 1.2<z<3.0, redshift sub-sample and we use Spitzer observations of a z<0.1 3CRR sample as a local comparison. By comparison to numbers from the SKA Simulated Skies we find that our moderate redshift sample is complete and our high redshift sample is 14per cent complete. We constrain the ranges of mean star formation rates (SFRs) to be 3.4-4.2, 18-41 and 80-581Msun/yr for the local, moderate and high redshift samples respectively. Hence, we observe an increase in the mean SFR with increasing redshift which we can parameterise as ~(1+z)^Q, where Q=4.2+/-0.8. However we observe no trends of mean SFR with radio luminosity within the moderate or high redshift bins. We estimate that radio-loud AGN in the high redshift sample contribute 0.1-0.5per cent to the total SFR density at that epoch. Hence, if all luminous starbursts host radio-loud AGN we infer a radio-loud phase duty cycle of 0.001-0.005.
Exploratory graphics for functional data

We survey some graphical tools for visualizing large sets of functional data represented by smooth curves. These graphical tools include the phase-plane plot, singular value decomposition plot, rainbow plot, functional variants of the bagplot and the highest density region boxplot. The latter two techniques utilize the first two robust principal component scores, Tukey’s halfspace location depth and highest density regions. The computer code and datasets are collected in the rainbow package for R, which is available at the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN).
Shareholders’ Say on Pay: Does It Create Value?

Abstract Congress and activists recently proposed giving shareholders a say (vote) on executive pay. We find that when the House passed the Say-on-Pay Bill, the market reaction was significantly positive for firms with high abnormal chief executive officer (CEO) compensation, with low pay-for-performance sensitivity, and responsive to shareholder pressure. However, activist-sponsored say-on-pay proposals target large firms, not those with excessive CEO pay, poor governance, or poor performance. The market reacts negatively to labor-sponsored proposal announcements and positively when these proposals are defeated. Our findings suggest that say-on-pay creates value for companies with inefficient compensation but can destroy value for others.
Optimal Pipe Size Design for Looped Irrigation Water Supply System Using Harmony Search: Saemangeum Project Area

Water supply systems are mainly classified into branched and looped network systems. The main difference between these two systems is that, in a branched network system, the flow within each pipe is a known value, whereas in a looped network system, the flow in each pipe is considered an unknown value. Therefore, an analysis of a looped network system is a more complex task. This study aims to develop a technique for estimating the optimal pipe diameter for a looped agricultural irrigation water supply system using a harmony search algorithm, which is an optimization technique. This study mainly serves two purposes. The first is to develop an algorithm and a program for estimating a cost-effective pipe diameter for agricultural irrigation water supply systems using optimization techniques. The second is to validate the developed program by applying the proposed optimized cost-effective pipe diameter to an actual study region (Saemangeum project area, zone 6). The results suggest that the optimal design program, which applies an optimization theory and enhances user convenience, can be effectively applied for the real systems of a looped agricultural irrigation water supply.
Adaptive resource allocation in cooperative OFDM networks for throughput and fairness improvement

Cooperative communication in multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MU-OFDM) networks is a promising solution to combat wireless channel fading and to increase system throughput. In this paper, with the instantaneous channel state information (CSI) available at base station, the optimal resource allocation strategy is considered in MU-OFDM networks, which is to maximize throughput and ensure fairness in entire network. We show that this problem is formulated as a mixed binary integer programming problem. Thus we decompose this optimization problem into four sub-optimal problems. First, the dynamic user choosing strategy is proposed. Second, a subcarrier choosing strategy is given by making use of the equivalent channel power gain. And the adaptive power allocation scheme in base station and in relay station is given at last. The simulation results show that our proposed algorithm can greatly increase throughput and ensure fairness.
Spatial occupational structure and local human capital spillover effects in Britain

Employment polarisation in developed countries has been of central focus for research and policy circles. An important question that has not been explored extensively is the spatial dimension of this polarization and the underlying processes that generate it. This is the main research topic of this thesis and is examined empirically for Britain over three papers. The first paper examines the spatial patterns of employment polarisation for Britain in the past decade. Econometric techniques are used to investigate whether employment polarisation happens within regions or just across regions and whether it is a predominantly urban phenomenon. The main result found is that all regions experience some degree of employment polarisation during the 1990s. Remarkably, London appears unique in terms of the magnitude of its employment polarisation. It experiences disproportionately higher growth in the employment share of both high- paid jobs and low-paid jobs compared to the other regions. Amongst the various proposed explanations for employment polarisation, the consumer demand mechanism has been relatively under-researched. According to this account, the presence of high educated, high income individuals in a locality boosts the demand for local low-skill, low-pay services. Since these services are non-traded and given an upward sloping labour supply, the increased labour demand would induce an upward effect on the wages and employment of the relevant low-pay occupations in the localities with higher human capital. In that context, the second and the third paper of the thesis examine how high human capital in a locality affects the labour market outcomes of the individuals of the locality in terms of wages and employment respectively. Different econometric specifications are employed in order to shed light on the positive effect found and discern the existence of a consumer demand mechanism in contrast to plausible production driven accounts (productivity spillovers and production complementarities). The strong significant effect on the local low-skill individuals compared to the other skill groups is suggested as preliminary evidence of the existence of the consumer demand mechanism.
Stock Return Volatility in Emerging Markets

This paper presents an empirical analysis of volatility and contagion across 19 emerging and developed stock markets in the 1990s. First, using an efficient estimate of unconditional stock return volatility we show that contemporaneous return and volatility correlation across stock markets have increased substantially in the 1990s. Second, using simple rolling regressions and goodness of fit measures we identify periods of persistent volatility in each market and volatility contagion across markets. For example, we show the persistent volatility in the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) during the 1994 economic crisis in Turkey. We can also differentiate between the effects of the East Asian and the Russian crisis on ISE. Finally, we apply Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) technique to obtain robust estimates of volatility contagion in ISE. We modify GARCH model by incorporating other countries’ lagged unconditional volatility estimates as the exogenous explanatory variable in the conditional variance equation for ISE. The results indicate that volatility contagion effects are carried to ISE through the New York and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges. * Paper presented at the “Learning to Live with Contagion in Capital Movements An Emerging Market Perspective: Turkey” Conference, organized by the Center for Economics and Econometrics at Bogazici University on June 4, 1999 with financial support from Credit Suisse First Boston. Correspondence Address: Kamil Yilmaz, College of Administrative Sciences and Economics, Koc University, Cayir Cad. No: 5, 80860 Istinye, Istanbul, Turkey. Tel: (90-212) 229 3006 x458, Fax: (90-212) 229 6674, email: kyilmaz@ku.edu. tr.
The Use of Partial Least Squares Path Modeling in IT Governance Discipline

As a consequence of the continuous increase in the importance of Information Technology as a critical component of an organization's day-to-day operations and its strategic capabilities, organizations have raised their concern to establish and implement mature and effective IT Governance. Using data from 20 organizations within financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing, and public service, this paper focuses on identifying the most influential IT governance domain for increasing the level of IT governance maturity and identifying the most influential IT governance mechanism for increasing the overall effectiveness of IT governance. Using Partial Least Squares (PLS) Path Modeling, this study found robust empirical evidence that the most influential IT governance domain is Monitoring of IT Performance Measurement and the most influential IT governance mechanism is the implementation of Corporate Communication Systems.
Talking Facilitates Cognitive-Emotional Processes of Adaptation to an Acute Stressor

The authors examined the influence of talking and the social context of talking on cognitive-emotional processes of adjustment to stressors. Two hundred fifty-six undergraduates viewed a stressful stimulus and were then assigned to a no-talk control condition or 1 of 3 talk conditions: talk alone, talk to a validating confederate, or talk to an invalidating confederate. Two days later, they were reexposed to the stressor. Compared with individuals in the no-talk condition, those in the talk alone and validate conditions had a lower level of intrusive thoughts in the 2-day interim, and they had lower perceived stress when reexposed to the stressor. The effects of talking and validation on perceived stress appeared to be mediated by lowered intrusions. The benefits of talking were diluted when disclosures were invalidated. These findings suggest that talking about acute stressors can facilitate adjustment to stressors through cognitive resolution.
Cisplatin Nephrotoxicity: A Review

Background:Cisplatin is a major antineoplastic drug for the treatment of solid tumors, but it has dose-dependent renal toxicity. Methods:We reviewed clinical and experimental literature on cisplatin nephrotoxicity to identify new information on the mechanism of injury and potential approaches to prevention and/or treatment. Results:Unbound cisplatin is freely filtered at the glomerulus and taken up into renal tubular cells mainly by a transport-mediated process. The drug is at least partially metabolized into toxic species. Cisplatin has multiple intracellular effects, including regulating genes, causing direct cytotoxicity with reactive oxygen species, activating mitogen-activated protein kinases, inducing apoptosis, and stimulating inflammation and fibrogenesis. These events cause tubular damage and tubular dysfunction with sodium, potassium, and magnesium wasting. Most patients have a reversible decrease in glomerular filtration, but some have an irreversible decrease in glomerular filtration. Volume expansion and saline diuresis remain the most effective preventive strategies. Conclusions:Understanding the mechanisms of injury has led to multiple approaches to prevention. Furthermore, the experimental approaches in these studies with cisplatin are potentially applicable to other drugs causing renal dysfunction.
Performance enhancing factors for manycore architectures: State-of-the-art

Manycore architecture system includes more number of processing elements to improve the performance while sustaining power considerations. Accelerating heterogeneous manycore computing elements involves huge amount of memory copy, computation and thread management. Applications of manycore architectures range from desktop computer to ware-house-scale computer. In this paper, the state-of-the-art trends and techniques of few manycore architectures that address various memory and performance issues are presented. Different parallel programming models that address issues on thread management, accessing virtual shared memory, dynamic load balancing, memory hierarchy and inter-language compatibility are discussed among some of the manycore architectures like NVIDIA's Graphics Processing Units (GPU), Intel's Many Integrated Core (MIC) and a joint venture of AMD's Accelerated Processing Units (APU).
Concurrent Packet Recovery for Distributed Uplink Multiuser MIMO Networks

While recent works on multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) mainly focus on boosting the throughput by enabling concurrent transmissions, less attention is paid to recovering concurrent erroneous streams. We however notice that uplink MU-MIMO is especially vulnerable to errors because error in any stream corrupts most of the other concurrent streams. Even worse, carrier sense and rate adaptation become more challenging in MU-MIMO, which further decreases reliability. Existing systems however recover errors by retransmitting all the streams in a corrupted packet, thereby taking away the significant performance benefit of MU-MIMO. To effectively harness the ideal gain of MU-MIMO, we develop Concurrent Packet Recovery (CPR), a recovery protocol customized for MU-MIMO. It has two distinctive features: (i) It judiciously selects the minimum number of streams to be retransmitted to support successful decoding; (ii) during retransmission, it utilizes the full degrees of freedom by allowing new streams to be sent in parallel. Our evaluation via testbed experiments and trace-driven simulations shows that CPR can efficiently recover both normal losses and collisions. For three-antenna AP scenarios, the throughput gain is up to 31.1 percent when no hidden terminal exists, and is 3.16× when 20 percent pairs of contending clients are hidden terminals.
Hashing with List-Wise learning to rank

Hashing techniques have been extensively investigated to boost similarity search for large-scale high-dimensional data. Most of the existing approaches formulate the their objective as a pair-wise similarity-preserving problem. In this paper, we consider the hashing problem from the perspective of optimizing a list-wise learning to rank problem and propose an approach called List-Wise supervised Hashing (LWH). In LWH, the hash functions are optimized by employing structural SVM in order to explicitly minimize the ranking loss of the whole list-wise permutations instead of merely the point-wise or pair-wise supervision. We evaluate the performance of LWH on two real-world data sets. Experimental results demonstrate that our method obtains a significant improvement over the state-of-the-art hashing approaches due to both structural large margin and list-wise ranking pursuing in a supervised manner.
Intraosseous Metastasizing of Pineoblastoma into the Anterior Skull Base, Calvarial Bones, and Vertebrae

Pineoblastoma is a rare malignant tumor of the central nervous system (CNS), which arises from the parenchyma of the pineal gland. It is characterized by aggressive clinical behavior and frequent metastases along the craniospinal axis. Extraneural metastases may occur due to surgical seeding of tumor cells beyond the dura and/or hematogenous spread, ventriculoperitoneal shunting, or through Batson’s plexus. To our knowledge, only six documented cases of intraosseous metastases of pineoblastoma are described in the literature. A 23-year-old female patient presented with clinical and radiological symptoms of a pineal tumor causing secondary hydrocephalus. After initial surgical treatment, chemotherapy, and local radiotherapy with craniospinal irradiation, she developed multiple metastases affecting the anterior skull base, intracranial meninges, frontal bone, and finally, the entire vertebral column. The patient received surgical treatment for the anterior skull base metastasis, repeated irradiation of the neuraxis, radiosurgical and radiotherapeutic procedures, and chemotherapy. The patient survived 57 months after the primary disease manifestation and died of multiple metastases. This presented case is the first known description of metastasis of pineoblastoma in the anterior cranial base. Multiple intracranial metastases were suppressed using CyberKnife radiation treatment and chemotherapy until massive involvement of spinal column occurred. Interestingly, no signs of brain radiation necrosis after repeated radiation treatments were observed, and the patient developed only moderate neurocognitive decline.