Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A study on sampling strategies in the figure cognitive process

This study was aimed at investigating the sampling strategies for 2 types of figures: 3-D cubes and human faces. The research was focused on: (a) from where the sampling process started; (b) in what order the figures’ features were sampled. The study consisted of 2 experiments: (a) sampling strategies for 3-D cubes; (b) sampling strategies for human faces. The results showed that: (a), for 3-D cubes, the first sampling was mostly located at the outline parts, rarely at the center part; while for human faces, the first sampling was mostly located at the hair and outline parts, rarely at the mouth or cheek parts, in most cases, the first sampling-position had no significant effects on cognitive performance and that (b), the sampling order, both for 3-D cubes and for human faces, was determined by the degree of difference among the sampled-features.
Coordinating Processor and Main Memory for Server Power Capping

With the number of high-density servers in data centers rapidly increasing, power capping with performance optimization has become a key challenge to gain a high return on investment by accommodating the maximized number of servers allowed by the limited power supply and cooling facilities. Various power capping solutions have been recently proposed for high-density servers and different components in a server to avoid system failures due to power overload or overheating. Existing solutions, unfortunately, either rely only on the processor for server power capping, with the assumption that it is the only major power consumer, or limit power only for a single component, such as main memory. As a result, the synergy between the processor and main memory is impaired by uncoordinated power adaptations, resulting in degraded overall system performance. In this paper, we propose a novel power capping solution that can precisely limit the peak power consumption of a server below a desired budget. Our solution adapts the power states of both the processor and memory in a coordinated manner, based on their power demands, to achieve optimized performance. The control algorithm is designed rigorously based on advanced feedback control theory for guaranteed control accuracy and system stability. We compare with two state-of-the-art server power capping solutions. Experimental results show that our solution, on average, achieves 7.3% better performance than one baseline for CPU-intensive benchmarks and doubles the performance of the other baseline when the power budget is tight.
A Suggestion for a Simple Cross-Country Empirical Proxy for Trend Unemployment

We propose a proxy for trend unemployment derived from the cointegration property between unemployment rates and world oil prices. Evidence from a sample of OECD countries is presented in support of the hypothesis. We argue that our empirical proxy is superior from an economic perspective to at least one popular empirical alternative and may be especially useful in cross-country type studies.
Protein kinases C-gamma and -delta are involved in insulin-like growth factor I-induced migration of colonic epithelial cells.

BACKGROUND & AIMS The mechanisms by which epithelial cells migrate during the repair of damaged colonic mucosa are poorly understood. This study investigated the insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) signaling pathway leading to HT29-D4 human colonic epithelial cell line migration. METHODS IGF-stimulated cell migration was determined using a wound model in the presence or absence of kinase inhibitors. Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) was determined by immunodetection. RESULTS IGF-I and insulin induce cell migration without affecting cell proliferation through their cognate receptors. Des(1-3)-IGF-I, a truncated analogue of IGF-I, was more potent than IGF-I, suggesting that IGF-binding proteins secreted in the medium modulated IGF-I-induced cell migration. Inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, PKC, and mitogen-activated protein kinases eliminated cell restitution. Long-term exposure of cells to phorbol myristate acetate caused the depletion of PKC-delta and -gamma and prevented also IGF-I-induced cell motility. IGF-I also induced activation of PKC-delta and -gamma only. CONCLUSIONS IGF-I stimulates colonic restitution through the activation of multiple signaling pathways including activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, PKC-delta and -gamma, and mitogen-activated protein kinases.
Using Cross-layer Heuristic and Network Coding to Improve Throughput in Multicast Wireless Mesh Networks

Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) receive much research interests because of their reliability, scalability and low cost. Obtaining high-throughput for multicast applications (e.g. video streaming broadcast) in WMN is challenging due to the interference and the change of channel quality. Cross-layer design and network coding are approaches which have been recently received considerable attention for high-throughput problem in wireless networks. In this paper, we propose an approach namely CLNC (Cross-Layer Network Coding) which is a combination of the above approaches to improve throughput in multicast wireless mesh networks. Our simulation results show that when the number of receivers is high CLNC's throughput is higher at least 30% than that of known methods such as AODV, DSDV and DSR and higher than that of MAODV. Moreover, PDR (Packet Delivery Ration) of CLNC is higher than that of MAODV and DSDV.
Acute Cardiorespiratory and Metabolic Responses During Resistance Exercise In The Lactate Threshold Intensity

Abstract The aims were both to determine lactate and ventilatory threshold during incremental resistance training and to analyze the acute cardiorespiratory and metabolic responses during constant-load resistance exercise at lactate threshold (LT) intensity. Ten healthy men performed 2 protocols on leg press machine. The incremental test was performed to determine the lactate and ventilatory thresholds through an algorithmic adjustment method. After 48 h, a constant-load exercise at LT intensity was executed. The intensity of LT and ventilatory threshold was 27.1±3.7 and 30.3±7.9% of 1RM, respectively (P=0.142). During the constant-load resistance exercise, no significant variation was observed between set 9 and set 15 for blood lactate concentration (3.3±0.9 and 4.1±1.4 mmol.L − 1, respectively. P=0.166) and BORG scale (11.5±2.9 and 13.0±3.5, respectively. P=0.783). No significant variation was observed between set 6 and set 15 for minute ventilation (19.4±4.9 and 22.4±5.5 L.min − 1, respectively. P=0.091) and between S3 and S15 for VO2 (0.77±0.18 and 0.83±0.16 L.min − 1, respectively. P=1.0). Constant-load resistance exercise at LT intensity corresponds to a steady state of ventilatory, cardio-metabolic parameters and ratings of perceived exertion.
Reflections: Chaos in organizational change

In this concluding article the guest editors take a reflective stand with respect to this special issue of the Journal of Organizational Change Management dedicated to exploring the ways in which Chaos is made applicable to and actionable in organizations. This summation chronicles a search for common ground as well as differences between the individual contributions. In addition, we respond to a number of issues we believe to be pertinent to the advancement of Chaos as a metapraxis of organizational change, concluding with a few suggestions for future research.
Initial investigation of Industrial Control System (ICS) security using Artificial Immune System (AIS)

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) which among others are comprised of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Distributed Control Systems (DCS) are used to control industrial processes. ICS have now been connected to other Information Technology (IT) systems and have as a result become vulnerable to Advanced Persistent Threats (APT). APTs are targeted attacks that use zero-day attacks to attack systems. Current ICS security mechanisms fail to deter APTs from infiltrating ICS. An analysis of possible solutions to deter APTs was done. This paper proposes the use of Artificial Immune Systems to secure ICS from APTs.
Familiarity with Speech Affects Cortical Processing of Auditory Distance Cues and Increases Acuity

Several acoustic cues contribute to auditory distance estimation. Nonacoustic cues, including familiarity, may also play a role. We tested participants’ ability to distinguish the distances of acoustically similar sounds that differed in familiarity. Participants were better able to judge the distances of familiar sounds. Electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings collected while participants performed this auditory distance judgment task revealed that several cortical regions responded in different ways depending on sound familiarity. Surprisingly, these differences were observed in auditory cortical regions as well as other cortical regions distributed throughout both hemispheres. These data suggest that learning about subtle, distance-dependent variations in complex speech sounds involves processing in a broad cortical network that contributes both to speech recognition and to how spatial information is extracted from speech.
Text analysis for ontology and terminology engineering

After a recent breakthrough in the early 90's, text analysis is acknowledged as one of the promising ways to rapidly build better grounded semantic resources such as terminologies and ontologies. This domain has recently undergone significant evolutions with a massive reference to machine learning algorithms and information extraction techniques together with linguistic- and statistic-based natural language processing. This position paper promotes three main ideas: (i) that highly domain-specific or task-specific, even idiosyncratic ontologies, are very useful, especially when they are linked to broader consensual schemes and they can be built with reasonable effort; (ii) that corpus-based ontologies can capture the perspective of a domain; and (iii) that supervised ontology learning from text makes feasible the development of specialized ontologies adapted for specific uses. We propose the establishment of an inventory of tools for building ontologies from text, give a first classification of such tools, and present an initial review of some recent methods and tools.
FSS-based planar filter with capacitor chips for antenna frequency selection

In this paper, the design of planar filter based on FSS structure workable at three different frequency allocations is proposed. The FSS structure which is constructed using inductive and capacitive grids is designed to have frequency selection feature for incoming waves from antenna at operating frequency of 1.575GHz and 1.8GHz. Meanwhile at operating frequency of 2.4GHz, the incoming waves will be always passed. Some capacitor chips are incorporated into the grids to obtain the tuning frequency of selection. From the measured results, it shows that the FSS-based planar filter which is implemented on a 0.8mm thick FR4 Epoxy dielectric substrate with the dimension of 135mm × 60mm are not affected by the capacitance values for operating frequency of 2.4GHz. Whilst for operating frequency around 1.8GHz, the different capacitance values have shifted frequency response which is larger than for operating frequency of 1.575GHz.
PROMOTING FAMILY AWARENESS AND INTER‐GENERATIONAL EXCHANGE: AN INFORMAL LIFE‐HISTORY PROGRAM

The life‐history method is well suited for promoting awareness about family history and facilitating intergenerational exchange. This technique enables individuals to discover and examine the people, values, experiences, and patterns that comprise their family heritage. Life‐history investigation is an inexpensive, practical, and positive approach to exploring family processes and history. The method is appropriate for a variety of situations and people, including senior citizen groups, church groups, classrooms, families, and community groups of all ages. Intergenerational exchange is promoted when younger and older people engage in self‐disclosure. Revealing personally meaningful information to an interested listener has many beneficial results. Older people review their lives with a sympathetic audience, and younger people discover facts and fictions about their families of origin. Generational stereotypes are lessened as well. Life‐history research is grounded in the oral tradition of folklore and the.
Curriculum Decision Making in Teacher Education: Policies, Program Development, and Design

The processes of curriculum policymak ing and program development in teacher education are outlined by Short. A series of tasks and decisions related to these processes are derived from re search and practice in the field of curric ulum studies and are described in the context of teacher education. The signifi cance of design criteria and the use of a unifying concept or theme in curricu lum planning in teacher education are explored.
Merging Lexicons for Higher Precision Subcategorization Frame Acquisition

We present a new method for increasing the precision of an automatically acquired subcategorization lexicon, by merging two resources produced using different parsers. Although both lexicons on their own have about the same accuracy, using only sentences on which the two parsers agree results in a lexicon with higher precision, without too great loss of recall. This “intersective” resource merger is appropriate when both resources are automatically produced, hence noisy, or when precision is of primary importance, and may also be a useful approach for new domains where sophisticated filtering and smoothing methods are unavailable.
Making working-class parents think more like middle-class parents: Choice Advisers in English education

In this paper, one policy response to the problem of classed school choice experiences in England is examined. ‘Choice Advisers’ are employed by government to provide advice and information to working class and disadvantaged parents with the aim of ‘empowering’ them to exercise school choice and aspire to ‘better’ schools for their children. However, Advisers have been subjectified by contradictions inherent in policy, expected to solve the problems of school choice in a context of significant structural limits to choice for working-class parents. Interviews with choice Advisers show that difficulties of the job in addition to insecure working conditions within local authorities have led to depoliticised, contradictory advice and Advisers bearing the brunt of policy both in terms of overwork and the venting of parental frustrations. Agency, both for parents and for Advisers themselves, is described as being something possessed by individuals rather than collectives, so there is little sense overall that underlying inequalities within the education system might be challenged.
Responsible Environmental Action: Its Role and Status In Environmental Education and Environmental Quality

This century will be one of continued global population growth, technological advancement, and subsequent burdens on the natural world from consumer demands. A citizenry capable of understanding the complexity of environmental issues and actively participating in their resolutions is vital. The ultimate goal of environmental educators should be to facilitate the creation of this active citizenry. The means by which educators achieve this goal are equally important. Student autonomy in issue investigations and action planning should supplant coercive, advocacy programs if a new generation of critical thinkers is to solve new environmental problems and maintain or improve environmental quality on both the local and global scales. To date, nearly all evaluations of environmental education (EE) have focused on educational outcomes. Evaluations of impacts to environmental quality linked to actions resulting from EE efforts will be necessary if this discipline is to remain relevant in a world facing a century of great challenge in protecting environmental integrity while meeting the needs of our growing and increasingly consumptive population.
Quality assurance standards in the education of psychologists: reliability and validity of objective comprehensive examinations developed at a freestanding professional school

L'auteur evalue pendant 10 ans les connaissances requises par 714 etudiants ayant suivi un programme de formation non universitaire en psychologie clinique (ecole professionnelle) et examine les correlations avec des variables telles que le niveau universitaire a l'entree dans ces ecoles, la competence clinique, etc. Les resultats montrent en particulier les bonnes qualites psychometriques de la batterie d'epreuves utilisees pour l'evaluation, ce qui permet d'argumenter en faveur d'un examen national des etudiants de ces ecoles professionnelles
Controlled human pose estimation from depth image streams

This paper presents a model-based, Cartesian control theoretic approach for estimating human pose from features detected using depth images obtained from a time of flight imaging device. The features represent positions of anatomical landmarks, detected and tracked over time based on a probabilistic inferencing algorithm. The detected features are subsequently used as input to a constrained, closed loop tracking control algorithm which not only estimates the pose of the articulated human model, but also provides feedback to the feature detector in order to resolve ambiguities or to provide estimates of undetected features. Based on a simple kinematic model, constraints such as joint limit avoidance, and self penetration avoidance are enforced within the tracking control framework. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm with experimental results of upper body pose reconstruction from a small set of features. On average, the entire pipeline runs at approximately 10 frames per second on a standard 3 GHz PC using a 17 degree of freedom upper body human model.
Dna Repair: Keeping a Watch on Repeated Elements the Intriguing Evolutionary Dynamics of Plant Mitochondrial Dna

mitochondrial genome of plants is a challenge to molecular evolutionary biologists. Its content is highly dynamic: plant mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is large and variable in size (200 to 2,500 kb), contains many introns and repeated elements (typically 90% of the total sequence), and experiences frequent gene gain/loss/ transfer/duplication, and genome rearrangements [1]. Its nucleotide substitution rate, paradoxically, is remarkably low-even lower than for nuclear DNA. These features are in sharp contrast with the highly studied mtDNA of animals, which is small-sized, structurally conserved, devoid of selfish elements, and has a very fast nucleotide substitution rate [2]. Why these two genomes behave so differently is one of the most head-scratching questions of current comparative genomics. The study by Davila et al. [3] contributes a potentially decisive argument by con nect ing the plant mtDNA mutation rate to yet another intriguing feature of this organellar genome-recombination. Unlike in animal mitochondria, recombination is widespread in plant mtDNA. Recombinant molecules have been detected in various species, and are involved in a number of phenotypic traits, including thermotolerance and male sterility. The nuclear-encoded MSH1 gene, which is the product of fusion between a homologue of the bacterial DNA-repair gene MutS and an endonuclease gene, is involved in the control of plant mtDNA recom-bination. Using next-generation sequencing technologies, Davila et al. [3] have examined the recombination pattern in wild-type versus MSH1-mutant ecotypes of the Brassicaceae Arabidopsis thaliana model. They report that MSH1 mutants experience mitochondrial recombi-nation at a much higher rate than the wild type, as reflected by the frequent detection of rearranged mito-chon drial molecules generated by illegitimate (ectopic) recombination between repeated elements. Interestingly, recombination in MSH1 mutants is shown to be associated with asymmetrical genetic exchanges: in a window of a few hundred bases surrounding the recombination breakpoint, one of the two recombining DNA sequences is copied and pasted onto the other one. This process, known as gene conversion, is mediated by efficient DNA mismatch repair activity, and contributes to sequence homogenization of recombinogenic motifs. An analysis of mitochondrial variations across 72 natural ecotypes of A. thaliana reveals similar patterns, suggesting that the processes described by Davila et al. actually impact on the evolution of plant mtDNA. This study, therefore, provides us with a proximal expla nation for the low substitution rate of plant mtDNA, namely the existence of efficient recombination-associated DNA repair activity. Ectopic recombination is potentially harmful in generating chromosomal rearrangements that …
A new approach for terrain analysis in mobile robot applications

This paper presents a novel approach to detect traversable and non-traversable regions of the environment from a depth image that could enhance mobility and safety of mobile robots through integration with localization, control and planning methods. The proposed system is based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA). PCA theory provides a powerful means to analyze 3D surfaces widely used in computer vision. It can be successfully applied, as well, to increase the degree of perception in autonomous vehicles, as new generations of 3D imaging sensors, including stereo and RGB-D-cameras, are increasingly introduced. The approach described in this paper is based on the estimation of the normal vector to a local surface leading to the definition of a novel, so-called, Unevenness Point Descriptor. Experimental results, obtained from indoor and outdoor environments, are presented to validate the system. It is demonstrated that the proposed approach can be effectively used for scene segmentation and it can efficiently handle difficult scenarios, including the presence of terrain slopes.
Isoprenylcysteine Methylation and Demethylation Regulate Abscisic Acid Signaling in Arabidopsis[W]

Isoprenylated proteins bear an isoprenylcysteine methyl ester at the C terminus. Although isoprenylated proteins have been implicated in meristem development and negative regulation of abscisic acid (ABA) signaling, the functional role of the terminal methyl group has not been described. Here, we show that transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants overproducing isoprenylcysteine methyltransferase (ICMT) exhibit ABA insensitivity in stomatal closure and seed germination assays, establishing ICMT as a negative regulator of ABA signaling. By contrast, transgenic plants overproducing isoprenylcysteine methylesterase (ICME) exhibit ABA hypersensitivity in stomatal closure and seed germination assays. Thus, ICME is a positive regulator of ABA signaling. To test the hypothesis that ABA signaling is under feedback regulation at the level of isoprenylcysteine methylation, we examined the effect of ABA on ICMT and ICME gene expression. Interestingly, ABA induces ICME gene expression, establishing a positive feedback loop whereby ABA promotes ABA responsiveness of plant cells via induction of ICME expression, which presumably results in the demethylation and inactivation of isoprenylated negative regulators of ABA signaling. These results suggest strategies for metabolic engineering of crop species for drought tolerance by targeted alterations in isoprenylcysteine methylation.
ON DELAY-DEPENDENT STABILITY FOR A CLASS OF DISCRETE NONLINEAR STOCHASTIC SYSTEMS

Abstract Global asymptotic stability conditions for discrete nonlinear scalar stochastic systems with state delay are obtained based on the convergence theorem for semimartingale inequalities, without assuming the Lipschitz conditions for nonlinear drift functions. The Lyapunov-Krasovskii and degenerate functionals techniques are used. The derived stability conditions are directly expressed in terms of the system coefficients. The obtained results are compared to some previously known asymptotic stability conditions for discrete nonlinear stochastic systems.