Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Imagery and Mental Models in Problem Solving

Six subjects were asked to read and try to understand the first part of Einstein’s 1905 paper on special relativity. On the basis of the diagrams drawn by the subjects while they read the text, their thinking aloud protocols, their responses to questions, and other observations, we have inferred the processes they used to understand the paper, and the role that mental images (mental representations) and their paper-and-pencil drawings played in achieving the understanding. In particular, we discuss the characteristics of the representations the subjects formed and the processes they used to form them, as well as the ways in which they derived or reached an understanding of the equations of relativity, using the mental images to assist them. From our analysis we infer that subjects translating the natural-language text into images are able to manipulate, control, and observe these representations to run simple "mental experiments," and by these means draw out the qualitative and quantitative implications of the text. The mental representations and drawings appear to mediate between the initial natural language text and the final equations. In no case did any subject achieve an understanding of the equations without using this kind of intermediate representation. For some decades, imagery has been an active research area in cognitive science (c.f., Paivio 1971 ; Shepard and Metzler 1971; Simon 1972; Pylyshyn 1973; Kosslyn 1980, 1983; Shepard and Copper 1982; Pinker 1985; Finke 1989). Research on imagery’s neuro psychological base is also progressing (Farah 1985; Kosslyn 1987; Kosslyn, SokoIv and Chen 1989; etc.). And the role of imagery in education has been examine (e.g., Marte11991). However, there are only a few publications of experimental work concerned mainly with imagery in problem solving (e.g., Simon and Barenfeld 1969; Hayes 1973; Novak 1976; and some aspects in Larkin and Simon 1987). Our study, in which subjects were asked to read and try to understand the first part of Einstein’s 1905 paper on special relativity, focuses on imagery in understanding and problem solving, in mental modeling (c.f. Gentner and Stevens 1983; Johnson-Laird 1983; Norman 1988) and in qualitative reasoning (c.f. Iwasaki 1989; Weld and de Kleer 1990). In Qin and Simon (1990, 1991), we discussed some results of our project relating to problem solving success. In this paper, we summarize very briefly our major findings about imagery and mental models.
High reliability outdoor sonar prototype based on efficient signal coding

Many mobile robots and autonomous vehicles designed for outdoor operation have incorporated ultrasonic sensors in their navigation systems, whose function is mainly to avoid possible collisions with very close obstacles. The use of these systems in more precise tasks requires signal encoding and the incorporation of pulse compression techniques that have already been used with success in the design of high-performance indoor sonars. However, the transmission of ultrasonic encoded signals outdoors entails a new challenge because of the effects of atmospheric turbulence. This phenomenon causes random fluctuations in the phase and amplitude of traveling acoustic waves, a fact that can make the encoded signal completely unrecognizable by its matched receiver. Atmospheric turbulence is investigated in this work, with the aim of determining the conditions under which it is possible to assure the reliable outdoor operation of an ultrasonic pulse compression system. As a result of this analysis, a novel sonar prototype based on complementary sequences coding is developed and experimentally tested. This encoding scheme provides the system with very useful additional features, namely, high robustness to noise, multi-mode operation capability (simultaneous emissions with minimum cross talk interference), and the possibility of applying an efficient detection algorithm that notably decreases the hardware resource requirements
Sociocultural differences in eating[-]disordered behaviors and body image perception : a comparison between Puerto Rican and American college women

This study investigated whether differences attributable to sociocultural factors existed in the eating-disorder behaviors and body image perception of Puerto Rican and U.S. college women. Participants (n =440) completed the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 and provided demographic information. Results indicated significant differences between the groups in the areas of body dissatisfaction, perfectionism, interpersonal distrust, and maturity fears. The U.S. group scored significantly higher in body dissatisfaction (body image), and the Puerto Rican group scored significantly higher in the other three areas (psychological factors). The U.S. group scored significantly below the normative group in three traits for eating disorders (body dissatisfaction, perfectionism, and interpersonal distrust). The Puerto Rican group scored significantly below the normative group in the same three traits for eating disorders and in maturity fears. There were significant differences in body dissatisfaction by country and body mass index (BMI). A significant positive correlation occurred between body dissatisfaction and BMI and between drive for thinness and BMI for the U.S. sample. Results suggest that college environments and sociocultural expectations contribute to the manifestation, development, and maintenance of eating-disorder behaviors and misperceptions of body image by emphasizing perfection, competition, and physical attractiveness. (Contains 18 tables and 69 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. SOCIOCULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN EATING DISORDERED BEHAVIORS AND BODY IMAGE PERCEPTION: A COMPARISON BETWEEN PUERTO RICAN AND AMERICAN COLLEGE WOMEN MS. HAYDEE ENCARNACION-GARCIA INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA
Time-triggered control of nonlinear discrete-time systems

We investigate the time-triggered control of nonlinear discrete-time systems using an emulation approach. We assume that we know a controller, which stabilizes the origin of a discrete-time nonlinear system. We then provide conditions to preserve stability when the control input is no longer updated at each step, but within N steps from the previous update, where N is a strictly positive integer. We consider general output feedback controllers and we allow for various holding strategies of the control input between two updates, such as zero-input or hold-input policies for example. An easily computable bound on the maximum number of steps between two updates, i.e. N, is provided. The results are applied to linear time-invariant systems in which case the assumptions are written as a linear matrix inequality, and a nonlinear physical example is provided as an illustration. This study is relevant for networked control systems, as well as any system for which sparse or sporadically changing control inputs are advisable in view of the resource limitations for instance.
Pseudoalteromonas aestuariivivens sp. nov., isolated from a tidal flat.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile, rod-shaped or ovoid bacterial strain, designated DB-2T, was isolated from a tidal flat of the Yellow Sea in South Korea, and subjected to a taxonomic study using a polyphasic approach. Strain DB-2T grew optimally at 30 °C, at pH 7.0-8.0 and in the presence of 2.0-3.0 % (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain DB-2T belonged to the genus Pseudoalteromonas. Strain DB-2T exhibited 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of 97.17-97.36 % to the type strains of Pseudoalteromonas mariniglutinosa, Pseudoalteromonas spongiae and Pseudoalteromonas tetraodonis and of 93.79-96.99 % to the type strains of the other species of the genus Pseudoalteromonas. Strain DB-2T contained Q-8 as the predominant ubiquinone and C16 : 0, C18 : 1ω7c, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c) and C12 : 0 3-OH as the major fatty acids. The major polar lipids detected in strain DB-2T were phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified glycolipids, an unidentified phospholipid and an unidentified aminolipid. The DNA G+C content of strain DB-2T was 54.9 ± 0.2 mol% and mean DNA-DNA relatedness values with the type strains of P. mariniglutinosa, P. spongiae and P. tetraodonis were 10-17 %. Differential phenotypic properties, together with phylogenetic and genetic distinctiveness, revealed that strain DB-2T is separated from recognized species of the genus Pseudoalteromonas. On the basis of these data, strain DB-2T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Pseudoalteromonas, for which the name Pseudoalteromonas aestuariivivens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is DB-2T ( = KCTC 42779T = CECT 8945T).
Activation of MAP kinase in lumbar spinothalamic cells is required for ejaculation.

INTRODUCTION Ejaculation is a reflex controlled by a spinal ejaculation generator located in the lumbosacral spinal cord responsible for the coordination of genital sensory with autonomic and motor outputs that regulate ejaculation. In the male rat, a population of lumbar spinothalamic cells (LSt cells) comprises an essential component of the spinal ejaculation generator. LSt cells are activated with ejaculation, but the nature of the signal transduction pathways involved in this activation is unknown. Moreover, it is unknown if LSt cell activation is required for expression of ejaculation. AIM The current study tested the hypothesis that ejaculatory reflexes are triggered via activation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling pathway in the LSt cells. METHODS Expression of phosphorylated extracellular signal-related kinases 1 and 2 (pERK) was investigated following mating behavior, or following ejaculation induced by electrical stimulation of the dorsal penile nerve (DPN) in anesthetized, spinalized male rats. Next, the effects of intrathecal or intraspinal delivery of Mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK) inhibitor U0126 on DPN stimulation-induced ejaculation was examined. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Expression of pERK in LSt cells and associated areas was analyzed. Electromyographic recordings of the bulbocavernosus muscle were recorded in anesthetized, spinalized rats. RESULTS Results indicate that the MAP kinase signaling pathway is activated in LSt cells following ejaculation in mating animals or induced by DPN stimulation in anesthetized, spinalized animals. Moreover, ERK activation in LSt cells is an essential trigger for ejaculation, as DPN stimulation-induced reflexes were absent following administration of MEK inhibitor in the L3-L4 spinal area. CONCLUSION These data provide insight into the nature of the signal transduction pathways involved in the activation of ejaculation through LSt cells. The data demonstrate that ERK activation in LSt cells is essential for ejaculation and contribute to a more detailed understanding of the spinal generation of ejaculation.
Transmit Equal Gain Precoding in Rayleigh Fading Channels

Precoding with limited feedback information can achieve satisfactory performance while the amount of feedback information is kept small. In this paper, we analyze the theoretical performance of equal gain precoder and find that its performance is at most 1.049 dB worse than the optimal precoder no matter how the number of transmit antennas increases. Moreover, we analyze the performance degradation of the equal gain precoder due to scalar quantization theoretically. The result shows that 2-3 bits per transmit antenna (excluding the first antenna) can achieve 0.5-0.25-dB performance gap compared with the same scheme without quantization. Furthermore, we found that the equal gain precoder in general can achieve comparable performance with the Grassmannian precoder in the same moderate feedback bits. Simulation results are provided to corroborate the theoretical results.
An immune responsive factor D‐like serine proteinase homologue identified from the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis

A Dermacentor variabilis cDNA encoding a clip‐domain serine proteinase homologue with glycine replacing the catalytic serine was identified from tick haemocytes. The D. variabilis product was most similar to Tachypleus tridentatus haemocyte antimicrobial factor D and shared significant homologies with a number of immune‐responsive gene products of arthropods, including insect prophenoloxidase‐activating cofactors. Northern blotting analyses confirmed that the tick serine proteinase homologue expression levels were highest in haemocytes, and to lesser degrees in ovaries and then salivary glands whereas steady‐state levels of expression in whole ticks were found to be slightly higher in fed versus unfed adults or eggs. Challenge of fed adults by Escherichia coli injection demonstrated that transcript abundance was significantly increased above those of naive controls in a temporal fashion. Additionally, an apparent orthologue of the D. variabilis clip‐domain molecule was cloned, and expression detected, from a Dermacentor andersoni cell line indicating cross species conservation.
A frightening view on schizophrenia. Combining fear conditioning and ketamine administration to investigate emotional blunting in an animal model of schizophrenia

Fear processing is especially relevant to schizophrenia, as many patients manifest deficits in the processing and attribution of negative emotional states. Many studies suggest that a hypofunctioning glutamatergic system could be related to both the cognitive and emotional deficits, including fear processing, displayed by schizophrenic patients. We investigated behavioural and neural (cFos) correlates of a ketamine-induced hypoglutamatergic state on fear conditioning in the rat, emphasizing brain areas implicated in fear processing and schizophrenia. We sought to evaluate the validity of the fear-conditioning/ketamine animal model by examining the effects of antipsychotics typically used in the clinical setting (clozapine and haloperidol) and a putative atypical antipsychotic (LY 379268). We hypothesized that ketamine administration would interfere with fear conditioning, and that clozapine and perhaps LY 379268, but not haloperidol (which ameliorates mainly positive symptoms), would renormalize behavioural and neural assays of fear conditioning. Fear conditioning led to changes in behaviour, including increases in freezing duration and frequency, the main determinant of fear conditioning. Fear conditioning also led to increases in cFos expression in the anterior cingulate, nucleus accumbens shell, paraventricular nucleus, and anterior portion of the basolateral amygdala and lateral amygdala. Ketamine, in turn, abolished the increase in cFos expression associated with fear conditioning in these areas. Behavioural assays of conditioning were consistent with these findings. Although clozapine administration renormalized conditioning-induced cFos expression after ketamine administration, behavioural evidence did not correlate with these findings. Haloperidol and LY 379268 did, however, partially renormalize freezing frequency, but with no neural correlates, with the exception of the anterior cingulate.
An experimental framework for testing Web prefetching techniques

The popularity of Web objects, and by extension the popularity of the Web sites, besides the appearance of clear footprints in user's accesses that show a considerable spatial locality, make possible to predict future accesses based on the current ones. This fact permits to implement also prefetching techniques in Web architecture in order to reduce the latency perceived by the users. Although the open literature presents some approaches in this sense, the huge variety of prefetching algorithms, and the different scenarios and conditions where they are applied make very difficult to compare performance and to obtain correct conclusions that permit researchers to improve their proposals or even detect in which conditions one solution is more convenient than others. This is the main reason why we propose A new and free available environment in order to implement and study prefetching techniques efficiently. Our framework is a hybrid implementation that combines both real and simulated parts in order to provide flexibility and accuracy. It reproduces in detail the behavior of Web users, proxy severs and original servers. The simulator also includes a module to provide performance results, such as precision (prefetching accuracy), recall, response time, and byte transference.
Inequality in malnutrition by maternal education levels among Thai children across ages in early childhood : based on the Prospective Cohort of Thai Children ( PCTC )

Background and Objectives: As tackling socioeconomic inequality in child malnutrition still remains one of the greatest challenges in developing countries, we examined maternal educational differences in malnutrition and the magnitude of its inequality among 4,198 children from the Prospective Cohort study of Thai Children (PCTC). Methods and Study Design: Prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting from birth to 24 months was calculated using the new WHO growth chart. The Relative Index of Inequality (RII) was used to examine the magnitude and trend of inequality in malnutrition between maternal educational levels. Results: The low education group had lower weight and height in most ages than the high education group. Faltering in height was observed in all education levels, but was most remarkable in the low education group. On the other hand, while upward trends for weight-for-age and weight-for-height across ages were observed in the high education group, a marked decline between 6 to 12 months was observed in the low education group. An increasing trend in inequality in The RII revealed an increasing trend in inequality in stunting, underweight, and wasting by maternal education levels was observed during infancy with an almost monotonic increase until 24 months, although the inequality in wasting decreased after 18 months of age. Conclusion: Inequality in malnutrition remarkably increased during infancy, and for stunting and underweight it remained until 24 months. These findings shed light on the extent of malnutrition inequality during the first 2 years of life and they suggest sustainable efforts must be established at the national level to tackle the malnutrition inequality in infancy.
The sex differential in mortality: a historical comparison of the adult-age pattern of the ratio and the difference

The ratio (RMR) is the standard measure of sex differentials in mortality. It is commonly known that the RMR was historically small and increased throughout the 20th century. However, numerical properties might account for the trend in the RMR rather than sex differences in risk factors. In this study we examine the age pattern of the absolute difference in male to female mortality rates (DMR) as an alternative measure in a historical context and compare it to the RMR pattern. Whereas the RMR is close to one at every age in the 19th and early 20th century and increases until the present day, the adult age pattern of the DMR is relatively stable throughout the last 150 years. We also found that the DMR is approximately exponentially increasing from age 40 to 90, implying a universal biological force behind sex differentials in mortality. However, interactions between biology, behavior and environment are complicated and have to be considered when interpreting these findings. Moreover, between ages 15 and 40 the DMR declined in the second half of the 20th century, whereas the RMR increased. Hence, the trend in the latter measure is likely to be an artifact of very different mortality regimes between populations. Therefore, we argue that it is necessary to consider both measures when conducting comparative analyses and to be careful in interpreting their time, cross-cultural and age trends, since they can lead to different conclusion about sex specific underlying risk factors.
Adolescent Sleep Quality Measured During Leisure Activities

A one-week sleep monitoring by logs and actigraphs in preteens during summer camp was conducted. Campers aged 11-16 attended a two-week day camp that focused on the learning about science. Nine campers agreed to monitor their sleep and have their patterns explained (anonymously) to other campers during the expert lecture by the author. The aim of the study was to identify the sleep quality in an adolescent group. All nine of the sleep logs and actigraphs denoted severe sleep deprivation. The findings from the logs and actigraphs denoted sever sleep deprivation. The expert lecturer provided basic information about sleep per the science designation of the day camp. A follow up session provided strategies to address sleep deprivation.
Introduction to the Special Issue on “New Trends towards Automatic Vehicle Control and Perception Systems”

Intelligent and automatic systems are making our daily life easier. They are able to automate tasks that, up to now, were performed by humans, freeing them from these tedious tasks. They are mainly based on the classical robotic architectures where the stages of perception—using different sensor sources or even a fusion of a set of them—and planning—where intelligent control systems are applied—play a key role. Among all of the fields in which intelligent systems can be applied, transport systems are considered one of the most promising ones since over one million fatalities—including drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists—are registered each year worldwide and they can definitively help to reduce these figures. [. ]
A Comparative Study of Density of Obturated Root Canals by Conventional and Mechanical Lateral Condensation Techniques

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare the weight of root canal filling material used in a new lateral condensation technique named mechanical lateral condensation (MLC) with that of conventional lateral condensation technique (LC). This new technique uses reciprocal handpiece. Methods: In this experimental study, 40 human extracted straight canine teeth were used. After crown amputation, root canals were prepared with 18 mm in length. The teeth were randomly divided into four experimental groups; each group was consisting of 10 teeth. The teeth in groups IA and IB were filled by LC technique. The teeth in groups IIA and IIB were filled by MLC technique and using a finger spreader that placed in a reciprocating-action handpiece to laterally condense cold gutta-percha, creating space for accessory cones. All of the roots were weighted before and after obturation and the difference demonstrated the weight of gutta-percha mass. The data were analyzed by t-test. Results: The mean weight for MLC obturations was 10.82 ± 0.025 g compared with 7.37 ± 0.035 g for that of LC technique. The difference was statistically significant (P = 0.001). Conclusion: This study showed that MLC technique requires more gutta-percha mass than LC technique.