Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender differences in children's creative game play

A new interactive Movie Studio for children was tested on its usability in a usability lab, to maximize the user’s creativity and game satisfaction. The results of the tests revealed not only critical usability hits, but also an interesting gender gap in the interaction style. First, the mean time spent in the different phases of the Movie Studio was longer for girls than for boys. Consequently, the mean total of visits in each phase was higher for boys than for girls. Further, boys more often used the function tools than girls. Although girls watched the intro and tutorial video clip approximately as many times as boys, girls on average spent more time watching these clips than boys. Finally, girls built dialogs more often between their actors than boys. In this paper some possible explanations will be given. Further research must complete, explain and verify these gender differences.
An improved diffusion maps method for action recognition using global and local constraints

Action recognition is an important research issue in intelligent surveillance and many other automatic video systems. In this paper, we describe a novel method for the human action recognition from its silhouette in the video. In the algorithm, diffusion maps is used for dimensionality reduction as well as to preserve much of the geometrical structure. A global geometry and local temporal similarity is proposed to recognize the feature trajectory of actions in the learned eigen-space. The classification is performed in K-nearest neighbor framework. Extensive experiments on various scenarios from open databases are presented to demonstrate its high performance and strong robustness in comparison with previous algorithms.
BIOME-NETWORKS: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION FOR SOCIOPOLITICAL ACTION IN ECO-REGIONS

Since ECO-92, environmental organizations and social movements have been networking with the support of information and communication technologies, in order to strengthen their capacity to influence decision-making processes relating to the causes they fight for. Some of these networks have been organized around the six Brazilian official biomes and have been incorporating the resources available on the Internet to achieve greater public visibility, capillarity and communicative effectiveness on their strategic actions. However, not all of them have been able to remain updated, active and visible in the increasingly dynamic digital environment, despite its informational and political legacy. This paper presents a synthesis of a comparative research among the here called "biome-networks", based on data collection on its organizational structures and its informational and communicative resources used to achieve its strategic aims related to the eco-regions in which they operate.
Second-order equational logic

We extend universal algebra and its equational logic from first to second order as follows. 1. We consider second-order equational presentations as specified by identities between second-order terms, with both variables and parameterised metavariables over signatures of variable-binding operators. 2. We develop an algebraic model theory for second-order equational presentations, generalising the semantics of (first-order) algebraic theories and of (untyped and simply-typed) lambda calculi. 3. We introduce a deductive system, Second-Order Equational Logic, for reasoning about the equality of second-order terms. Our development is novel in that this equational logic is synthesised from the model theory. Hence it is necessarily sound. 4. Second-Order Equational Logic is shown to be a conservative extension of Birkhoff's (First-Order) Equational Logic. 5. Two completeness results are established: the semantic completeness of equational derivability, and the derivability completeness of (bidirectional) Second-Order Term Rewriting.
Processing of word-level stress by Mandarin-speaking second language learners of English

ABSTRACT This study investigates whether second language learners’ processing of stress can be explained by the degree to which suprasegmental cues contribute to lexical identity in the native language. It focuses on Standard Mandarin, Taiwan Mandarin, and American English listeners’ processing of stress in English nonwords. In Mandarin, fundamental frequency contributes to lexical identity by signaling lexical tones, but only in Standard Mandarin does duration distinguish stressed–unstressed and stressed–stressed words. Participants completed sequence-recall tasks containing English disyllabic nonwords contrasting in stress. Experiment 1 used natural stimuli; Experiment 2 used resynthesized stimuli that isolated fundamental frequency and duration cues. Experiment 1 revealed no difference among the groups; in Experiment 2, Standard Mandarin listeners used duration more than Taiwan Mandarin listeners did. These results are interpreted within a cue-weighting theory of speech perception.
Mind Making: The Shared Laws of Natural and Artificial Intelligence

"This book is . not on philosophy, science or reality, but why and how minds might invent such things. The laws of mind, not the laws of gravity or electricity, but the methods of the mind that made these tools. It is not on brains of neurons, controllers or computers, but the logical possibilities of mind, from minimal axioms deducing all the kinds of mind that are and can ever be. " Mind Making applies original artificial intelligence research to precisely define "mind". On that foundation, author Patrick Roberts advances ancient questions of free-will, reality and ethics. Deeper, the book offers a scientific method for resolving philosophical questions. "How to prove a model of mind? Only by testing an analogous combination of entirely mindless parts. Otherwise, you remain trapped in endless debates, never reaching certainties because you can't suspend your own mind. Twenty-five hundred years of futile verbal philosophical debate ends. Philosophy becomes an engineering problem: Machine mind m outperformed mind n in a statistically significant set of tests. n's assumptions about reality are wrong. m's are right and are complete because m contains no minds but those we made. " To the psychologist, Mind Making offers a model of the human mind unburdened by the technicalities of neurons and chemistry. To the engineer, designs for more reliable, powerful machines. To the philosopher, proven ultimate reality. To the lay reader, better knowledge of his mind, and of his world as an effect of that mind. "These laws of mind are all that can be true for everyone, everywhere, forever. They can't be false because they made truth. Always true, you need never doubt them. In your mind, they are the last possessions you can lose. By comparison, all other knowledge is trivia. "
Use of a Conditional Ubr5 Mutant Allele to Investigate the Role of an N-End Rule Ubiquitin-Protein Ligase in Hedgehog Signalling and Embryonic Limb Development

Hedgehog (Hh) signalling is a potent regulator of cell fate and function. While much is known about the events within a Hh-stimulated cell, far less is known about the regulation of Hh-ligand production. Drosophila Hyperplastic Discs (Hyd), a ubiquitin-protein ligase, represents one of the few non-transcription factors that independently regulates both hh mRNA expression and pathway activity. Using a murine embryonic stem cell system, we revealed that shRNAi of the mammalian homologue of hyd, Ubr5, effectively prevented retinoic-acid-induced Sonic hedgehog (Shh) expression. We next investigated the UBR5:Hh signalling relationship in vivo by generating and validating a mouse bearing a conditional Ubr5 loss-of-function allele. Conditionally deleting Ubr5 in the early embryonic limb-bud mesenchyme resulted in a transient decrease in Indian hedgehog ligand expression and decreased Hh pathway activity, around E13.5. Although Ubr5-deficient limbs and digits were, on average, shorter than control limbs, the effects were not statistically significant. Hence, while loss of UBR5 perturbed Hedgehog signalling in the developing limb, there were no obvious morphological defects. In summary, we report the first conditional Ubr5 mutant mouse and provide evidence for a role for UBR5 in influencing Hh signalling, but are uncertain to whether the effects on Hedgehog signaling were direct (cell autonomous) or indirect (non-cell-autonomous). Elaboration of the cellular/molecular mechanism(s) involved may help our understanding on diseases and developmental disorders associated with aberrant Hh signalling.
Association between markers of glucose metabolism and risk of colorectal cancer

Objectives Independent epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between markers of glucose metabolism (including fasting glucose, fasting insulin, homeostasis model of risk assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and C peptide) and the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, such associations have not been systematically analysed and no clear conclusions have been drawn. Therefore, we addressed this issue using a meta-analysis approach. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources PubMed and EMBASE were searched up to May 2015. Primary and secondary outcome measures Either a fixed-effects or random-effects model was adopted to estimate overall ORs for the association between markers of glucose metabolism and the risk of CRC. In addition, dose–response, meta-regression, subgroup and publication bias analyses were conducted. Results 35 studies involving 25 566 patients and 5 706 361 participants were included. Higher levels of fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, HbA1c and C peptide were all significantly associated with increased risk of CRC (fasting glucose, pooled OR=1.12, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.18; fasting insulin, pooled OR=1.42, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.69; HOMA-IR, pooled OR=1.47, 95% CI 1.24 to 1.74; HbA1c, pooled OR=1.22, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.47 (with borderline significance); C peptide, pooled OR=1.27, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.49). Subgroup analysis suggested that a higher HOMA-IR value was significantly associated with CRC risk in all subgroups, including gender, study design and geographic region. For the relative long-term markers, the association was significant for HbA1c in case–control studies, while C peptide was significantly associated with CRC risk in both the male group and colon cancer. Conclusions The real-time composite index HOMA-IR is a better indicator for CRC risk than are fasting glucose and fasting insulin. The relative long-term markers, HbA1c and C peptide, are also valid predictors for CRC risk. Considering the included case–control studies in the current analysis, more cohort studies are warranted to enhance future analysis.
A batch fabricated biomimetic dry adhesive

The fine hair adhesive system found in nature is capable of reversibly adhering to just about any surface. This dry adhesive, best demonstrated in the pad of the gecko, makes use of a multilevel conformal structure to greatly increase inelastic surface contact, enhancing short range interactions and producing significant amounts of attractive forces. Recent work has attempted to reproduce and test the terminal submicrometre ‘hairs’ of the system. Here we report the first batch fabricated multi-scale conformal system to mimic nature’s dry adhesive. The approach makes use of massively parallel MEMS processing technology to produce 20–150 µm platforms, supported by single slender pillars, and coated with ∼2 µm long, ∼200 nm diameter, organic looking polymer nanorods, or ‘organorods’. To characterize the structures a new mesoscale nanoindenter adhesion test technique has been developed. Experiments indicate significantly improved adhesion with the multiscale system. Additional processing caused a hydrophilic to hydrophobic transformation of the surface and testing indicated further improvement in adhesion.
ON WAVEFORMS OF CAPILLARY AND GRAVITY-CAPILLARY WAVES

Due to extreme conditions in the field, there has not been any observational report on three-dimensional waveforms of short ocean surface waves. Three-dimensional waveforms of short wind waves can be found from integrating surface gradient image data (Zhang 1996a). Ocean surface gradient images are captured by an optical surface gradient detector mounted on a raft operating in the water offshore California (Cox and Zhang 1997). Waveforms and spatial structures of short wind waves are compared with early laboratory wind wave data (Zhang 1994, 1995). Although the large-scale wind and wave conditions are quite different, the waveforms are resoundingly similar at the small scale. It is very common, among steep short wind waves, that waves in the capillary range feature sharp troughs and flat crests. The observations show that most short waves are far less steep than the limiting waveform under weak wind conditions. Waveforms that resemble capillary-gravity solitons are observed with a close match to the form theoretically predicted for potential flows (Longuet-Higgins 1989, Vanden-Broeck and Dias 1992). Capillaries are mainly found as parasitic capillaries on the forward face of short gravity waves. The maximum wavelength in a parasitic wave train is less than a centimeter. The profiles of parasitic wave trains and longitudinal variations are shown. The phenomenon of capillary blockage (Phillips 1981) on dispersive freely traveling short waves is observed in the tank but not at sea. The short waves seen at sea propagate in all directions while waves in the tank are much more unidirectional. @ Elsevier, Paris
DNA Vaccination with Genes EncodingToxoplasma gondii Antigens GRA1, GRA7, and ROP2 Induces Partially Protective Immunity against Lethal Challenge in Mice

ABSTRACT C57BL/6, C3H, and BALB/c mice were vaccinated with plasmids encoding Toxoplasma gondii antigens GRA1, GRA7, and ROP2, previously described as strong inducers of immunity. Seroconversion for the relevant antigen was obtained in the majority of the animals.T. gondii lysate stimulated specific T-cell proliferation and secretion of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) in spleen cell cultures from vaccinated BALB/c and C3H mice but not in those from control mice. Although not proliferating, stimulated splenocytes from DNA-vaccinated C57BL/6 mice also produced IFN-γ. No interleukin-4 was detected in the supernatants of lysate-stimulated splenocytes from DNA-vaccinated mice in any of the mouse strains evaluated. As in infected animals, a high ratio of specific immunoglobulin G2a (IgG2a) to IgG1 antibodies was found in DNA-vaccinated C3H mice, suggesting that a Th1-type response had been induced. For BALB/c mice, the isotype ratio of the antibody response to DNA vaccination was less polarized. The protective potential of DNA vaccination was demonstrated in C3H mice. C3H mice vaccinated with plasmid encoding GRA1, GRA7, or ROP2 were partially protected against a lethal oral challenge with cysts of two differentT. gondii strains: survival rates increased from 10% in controls to at least 70% after vaccination in one case and from 50% to at least 90% in the other. In vaccinated C3H mice challenged with a nonlethal T. gondii dose, the number of brain cysts was significantly lower than in controls. DNA vaccination did not protect BALB/c or C57BL/6 mice. Our results demonstrate for the first time in an animal model a partially protective effect of DNA vaccination against T. gondii.
Context-aware Personalized Mobile Web Search Techniques-A Review

The advent of the Web has raised different searching and querying problems. Keyword matching[1] based querying techniques used by various search engines, return thousands of Web documents for a single query, and most of these documents are generally are unrelated to the users’ required information. Queries submitted to a search engine may have ambiguous meanings. For example, depending on the users [2], the query “apple” may refer to a fruit, the company Apple Computer and so forth. Thus, providing personalized query suggestion (e.g., users interested in “apple” as a fruit get suggestions about fruit, while users interested in “apple” as a company) will help the user in getting the desired information. This makes the current retrieval systems far from optimal. Also because of geography’s important role in search requests, methods are required which aim at giving improved answers to geographic search requests. Geo search applications can use a standard keyword interface and extract geographic information (implicit or explicit) from queries, employ graphic interfaces such as interactive maps, or use the current location of a mobile user. This paper focuses on the survey of many efficient Context aware Personalized Web search approaches with geographical information which were proposed by many authors. KeywordsWeb search, geographic search, local search, ontology, Personalized Search, LBS
Integration of cfengine and scli Vladislav Marinov

The cfengine program is used to configure Unix machines. It is a policy engine which reads a file describing a policy how a system should be configured and tries to enforce this policy. The scli program is an SNMP management program which has among other features the ability to configure VLANs. The goal of this project is to integrate cfengine and scli so that the former can monitor and configure SNMP enabled devices via the latter. For this purpose a communication protocol has to be developed and the implementations of the two tools have to be adapted so that they can support the protocol.
The 10 GHz wide tuning and low phase-noise PLL chip design

An integer-N phase-locked loop (PLL) operating at 10 GHz is designed and fabricated in TSMC 0.18-um CMOS technology. The proposed PLL with a LC-tank voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) and a mixed design of current mode logic (CML) and true single phase clock (TSPC) logic in the frequency divider achieves a tuning range from 8.75 GHz to 10.93 GHz and a phase noise of −113.4 dBc per Hertz at an offset frequency of 1 MHz from the carry frequency of 10.49 GHz. The final simulated locking time is lower than 3.7 us. Including pads and an on-chip third-order low-pass filter, the overall chip area is only 0.82×0.68 mm2 (0.56 mm2) as well as the power consumption is 39 mW at the 1.8 V supply voltage.
Evaluation of Toxicity and Biodegradability of Cholinium Amino Acids Ionic Liquids

Cholinium amino acid ionic liquids ([Ch][AA] ILs), which are wholly composed of renewable biomaterials, have recently been demonstrated to have very promising properties for applications in organic synthesis and biomass pretreatment. In this work, the toxicity of these ILs toward enzymes and bacteria was assessed, and the effect of the anion on these properties is discussed. The inhibitory potentials of this type of ILs to acetylcholinesterase were weaker approximately an order of magnitude than the traditional IL 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate. Additionally, the [Ch][AA] ILs displayed low toxicity toward the bacteria tested. Furthermore, the biodegradability of the [Ch][AA] ILs was evaluated via the closed bottle and CO2 headspace tests using wastewater microorganisms. All the ILs were classified as ‘readily biodegradable’ based on their high levels of mineralization (62-87%). The presence of extra carboxyl or amide groups on the amino acid side chain rendered the ILs significantly more susceptible to microbial breakdown. In addition, for most of the [Ch][AA] ILs, low toxicity correlated with good biodegradability. The low toxicity and high biodegradability of these novel [Ch][AA] make them promising candidates for use as environmentally friendly solvents in large-scale applications.
Time delays of arrival estimation for sound source location based on coherence method in correlated noise environments

In this paper, a robust time delay of arrival (TDOA) estimation for sound source location based on a cross correlation or generalized cross correlation function (GCCF) in correlated noise environments is proposed. The coherence-based weighting function of GCCF can be improved by cross power spectral subtraction when the cross power spectral density of the input correlated noise is available. Then, this weighting function is utilized to estimate the positions of the maximum peaks in the GCCF. We compare our new algorithm with the traditional ones, and the experiment results show superior performance in a real conference room.
Student accounts of space and safety at a South African university: implications for social identities and diversity

Transformation efforts in South African higher education have been under increased scrutiny in recent years, especially following the last years of student activism and calls for decolonization of universities. This article presents data from a participatory photovoice study in which a group of students reflect on their experiences of feeling safe and unsafe at an urban-based historically disadvantaged university. Findings highlight the way in which historical inequalities on the basis of social identities of race, class, and gender, among others, continue to shape experiences, both materially and social-psychologically, in South African higher education. However, and of particular relevance in thinking about a socially just university, participants speak about the value of diversity in facilitating their sense of both material and subjective safety. Thus, a diverse classroom and one that acknowledges and recognizes students across diversities, is experienced as a space of comfort, belonging and safety. Drawing on feminist work on social justice, we argue the importance of lecturer sensitivity and reflexivity to their own practices, as well as the value of social justice pedagogies that not only focus on issues of diversity and equality but also destabilize dominant forms of didactic pedagogy, and engage students’ diverse experiences and perceptions.
Effective Community Search over Large Spatial Graphs

Communities are prevalent in social networks, knowledge graphs, and biological networks. Recently, the topic of community search (CS) has received plenty of attention. Given a query vertex, CS looks for a dense subgraph that contains it. Existing CS solutions do not consider the spatial extent of a community. They can yield communities whose locations of vertices span large areas. In applications that facilitate the creation of social events (e.g., finding conference attendees to join a dinner), it is important to find groups of people who are physically close to each other. In this situation, it is desirable to have a spatial-aware community (or SAC), whose vertices are close structurally and spatially. Given a graph G and a query vertex q, we develop exact solutions for finding an SAC that contains q. Since these solutions cannot scale to large datasets, we have further designed three approximation algorithms to compute an SAC. We have performed an experimental evaluation for these solutions on both large real and synthetic datasets. Experimental results show that SAC is better than the communities returned by existing solutions. Moreover, our approximation solutions can find SACs accurately and efficiently.
Experimental State Splitting for Transfer Learning

Jean is a model of early cognitive development based loosely on Piaget’s theory of sensori-motor and pre-operational thought (Piaget, 1954). Like an infant, Jean repeatedly executes schemas, gradually extending its schemas to accommodate new experiences. We model this process of accommodation with the Experimental State Splitting algorithm. We present the algorithm and demonstrate, in three transfer learning experiments, Jean’s ability to transfer learned schemas to new situations in a real time strategy military simulator.