Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combination forecasts of output growth in a seven-country data set

This paper uses forecast combination methods to forecast output growth in a seven-country quarterly economic data set covering 1959-1999, with up to 73 predictors per country. Although the forecasts based on individual predictors are unstable over time and across countries, and on average perform worse than an autoregressive benchmark, the combination forecasts often improve upon autoregressive forecasts. Despite the unstable performance of the constituent forecasts, the most successful combination forecasts, like the mean, are the least sensitive to the recent performance of the individual forecasts. While consistent with other evidence on the success of simple combination forecasts, this finding is difficult to explain using the theory of combination forecasting in a stationary environment. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Roles of the HSP70-Subunit in a Eukaryotic Multi-Site-Specific Endonuclease, Endo.SceI: Autophosphorylation and Heat Stability

The 70 kDa heat shock proteins (HSP70) are a family of molecular chaperones that bind transiently to unfolded proteins in an ATP/ADP dependent manner. Endo.SceI comprises a unique example for mitochondrial HSP70, which exists in a stable complex with a nucleolytic subunit as a multi-site specific DNase. The HSP70-subunit in Endo.SceI was autophosphorylated by ATP in vitro. The autophosphorylation was higher in the Endo.SceI complex form than in the free form. Although the autophosphorylation had no significant effect on the endonucleolytic activity of Endo.SceI, the factors favoring autophosphorylation protected the endonucleolytic activity of Endo.SceI against heat inactivation. ATP, adenosine 5′-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (ATP-γ-S), and ADP not only protected the endonucleolytic activity against heat inactivation in the presence of Ca2+ ions, but also reduced the labeling of the HSP70-subunit by [γ-32P]ATP in Endo.SceI. These findings suggest that the HSP70-subunit shields Endo.SceI from heat inactivation through ATP/ADP binding.
The Making of a Model: Utilizing Consensus in Formative Evaluation.

A case study description of work toward developing an evaluation model for implementation of a statewide principal incentive program illustrates the achieving of consensus when raultiple stakeholders' interests were involved. The type of training background needed by evaluators are also considered. In response educational Improvement Act of 1984 (South Carolina), p7intaX improvement programs were initiated, requiring an evaltleidel. The fir :t task was to zelect criteria and perforN.tnt; in45.cators. Extensive discussion by a committee of educatora ? x,g1 co ? rnunity representatives reduced the list to 25 indicat,,rs, The mExt task was identifying appropriate evidence for judging pOztRicnan*, Use of small groups helped build consensus. The model as com.A. :1tute4, was evaluated with a hypothetical case study. The process.sluqgestea that successful evaluators need diversified training and 'a:-1 under Landing of evaluation in multiple contexts. Models that make sense to stakeholders should be used. The outlined model includes the. dinensions of student achievement, leadership, staff supervision, commqnity relations, and personal development. (SLD) **********1 t*******0,Aft**31******************************************* Reproductions Nvplid by EDRS are the best that can be math from the original document. ********************x******************************************* The making of a model: Utilizing consensus in formative evaluation Catherine Emihovich Florida State University Department of Educational Research College of Education Tallahassee, FL 32306 (904) 644-4592 Michael Rowls Department of Instruction & Teacher Education George Lackey Department of Educationa: Psychology University of South Carolina College of Education
Spatial filter design based on re-estimated projection matrices

In this paper, motor imagery electroencephalograph classification problem is investigated and a method which modifies the projection matrix is proposed based on common spatial pattern analysis. Exceptional samples are detected through examining the features generated by the projection matrix in the first place, which are special in terms that the projection matrix in common spatial pattern analysis fails to extract discriminant features from them. Projection matrices for exceptional trials are re-estimated and integrated together to form the final projection model. Based on this integrated model, feature extraction is carried out and classification follows by employing support vector machine. The validity of the proposed method is verified through experiment studies. Two data sets that consist of two classes are used, and results show that the proposed method generates more discriminant features.
Multicast Routing Scheme Based on Chaotic Optimization Adaptive Genetic Algorithm

The problem of computing the Bandwidth-Delay Constrained QoS multicast routing for Networks is an NP-hard problem. Classical approaches of multicast routing consider a tree path whose computational cost entails high use of resources such as time and memory. This paper presents a chaotic optimization adaptive genetic algorithm applied to the multicast routing problem, in which no tree is built. The major objectives of this study are: To modify the encoding to be suitable for the multicast routing problem ;To develop a adaptive solution to this problem, New options of fitness functions, variation and selection operators were proposed to increase the ability to generate feasible routes; To compare the performance of the proposed algorithm with some existing multicast routing algorithm. The simulations were performed for several networks with different network and multicast sizes. The results suggest promising performance for this approach.
The Direct and Indirect Relationships between School Attachment, Constructive Conflict Resolution Behavior and Aggression

In this study, the direct and indirect relationships between school attachment, constructive conflict resolution behavior and aggression were investigated. 474 sixth grade students participated in the study. According to the findings, there was a negative relationship between school attachment, constructive conflict resolution behavior and aggression, while there was a positive relationship between school attachment and constructive conflict resolution behavior. The direct and indirect relationship between school attachment and constructive conflict resolution behavior and agression. Suggestions on the prevention of violences in schools were discussed in the light of findings.
Can Rats Reason

Since at least the mid-1980s claims have been made for rationality in rats. For example, that rats are capable of inferential reasoning (Blaisdell, Sawa, Leising, & Waldmann, 2006; Bunsey & Eichenbaum, 1996), or that they can make adaptive decisions about future behavior (Foote & Crystal, 2007), or that they are capable of knowledge in propositional-like form (Dickinson, 1985). The stakes are rather high, because these capacities imply concept possession and on some views (e.g., Rödl, 2007; Savanah, 2012) rationality indicates self-consciousness. I evaluate the case for rat rationality by analyzing 5 key research paradigms: spatial navigation , metacognition , transitive inference , causal reasoning , and goal orientation . I conclude that the observed behaviors need not imply rationality by the subjects. Rather, the behavior can be accounted for by noncognitive processes such as hard-wired species typical predispositions or associative learning or (nonconceptual) affordance detection. These mechanisms do not necessarily require or implicate the capacity for rationality. As such there is as yet insufﬁcient evidence that rats can reason. I end by proposing the ‘Staircase Test,’ an experiment designed to provide convincing evidence of rationality in rats.
Do computer-based three-dimensional simulations help chemistry beginners to understand chemical structures ? A preliminary study

The analysis of chemical phenomena with the help of models and analogies is more and more supported by powerful computers. Different representations of one molecule can be visualized instantaneously. Apart from simulating three dimensions, specific software components also allow the learner to rotate the visualized object. This interaction leads to an abundance of new information concerning the spatial construction of a molecule. Can students, especially novices in chemistry, profit from this additional information? Several studies, mainly with students in advanced chemistry classes, show an improved understanding of chemistry concepts by using computer-based simulations. For example, Williamson and Abraham (1995) found that first-year university students who viewed molecular animations achieved higher test scores than students who had viewed still images of the same structures. In other studies with high school students, computer-generated simulations help to overcome misconceptions about the structure (Hakerem et. al 1993) and to gain better understanding of the model concept (Dori & Barak 2001). Our research is focused on students in the first two years of chemistry instruction (15 to 16-year-old students in German grammar schools). First, we are investigating whether the use of three-dimensional simulations leads to a better understanding of chemical structures than conventional two-dimensional figures. Second, we would like to find out what kind of personal abilities has influence on the understanding. In this paper, we are giving preliminary results.
Symmetry in Markov Decision Processes and its Implications for Single Agent and Multiagent Learning

This paper examines the notion of symmetry in Markov decision processes (MDPs). We define symmetry for an MDP and show how it can be exploited for more effective learning in single agent systems as well as multiagent systems and multirobot systems. We prove that if an MDP possesses a symmetry, then the optimal value function andQ function are similarly symmetric and there exists a symmetric optimal policy. If an MDP is known to possess a symmetry, this knowledge can be applied to decrease the number of training examples needed for algorithms like Q learning and value iteration. It can also be used to directly restrict the hypothesis space.
A semi-automatic method of ontology population and enrichment in Tibetan language from the WWW

Guaranteeing the use of the Tibetan language is an important aspect of safeguarding the Tibetan people's right to autonomy and exercising their right to participate in the administration of local affairs. The World Wide Web is a more effective and quicker way to get information and knowledge. Based on ontology techniques, there are many methods to support knowledge acquisition from the WWW. In this paper, we propose a semi-automatic method, which comprises the ontology population and enrichment methods aiming at the enhancement of the knowledge contained into the ontology concerning its ontological instances. Comparing with other works, our work adopt a incremental methodology to populate an ontology in Tibetan language with instances based on automatic learning and manual enrichment, considering both the usability and adoption.
Determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among Tehranian adolescents: A qualitative research

Background: For effectively promoting fruit and vegetable consumption among adolescents, it is necessary to identify the determinants of intake. This qualitative research was conducted to explore the determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among Tehranian adolescents in 2012. Materials and Methods: The present qualitative study is aimed at identifying the determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among Tehranian adolescents in 2012. Male and female students in the middle schools of Tehran, in the age range of 11-14 years, were used as the study population, which was selected by the convenience method. Semi-structured interactional interviews were used for data collection. Data was analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method. Results: The availability and accessibility of fruits and vegetables in home, availability of unhealthy options in the environment, socioeconomic status, advertising about unhealthy options, subjective norms, reinforcement, and modeling were explored as environmental factors in this study. Also, individual factors were extracted as the second category that encompassed the subcategories including; preferences, knowledge, skill in preparing fruits and vegetables, outcome expectations, outcome expectancy, perceived susceptibility, and perceived seriousness. Conclusion: It is recommended that interventions have family-based designs as well as environmental policy-based (especially schools) ones. Meanwhile, families should be educated to adapt their children's sapour with tastes of fruits and vegetables during their childhood.
Semantic Form and Abductive Fixation of Parameters 1 Introduction

The present paper is concerned with the phenomenon that many linguistic expressions have a fixed set of readings which are extremely diverse but systematically related to one another. As pointed out by Nunberg (1979), such cases of multiple use can be roughly separated into two classes: First, the class of cases where we have no substantial reasons for assuming that one or another reading is prior, and, second, the class of cases where we have clear intuitions as to which readings are basic, and which are derived. To take an example that has been often mentioned, the DP the newspaper offers apparently conflicting perspectives on the world as it can be used to refer to entities of different ontological sorts. Consider the occurrences of the DP in sentences (1a) (1c).
Fractalkine-Mediated Endothelial Cell Injury by NK Cells1

Endothelial cells (ECs) are primary targets of immunological attack, and their injury can lead to vasculopathy and organ dysfunction in vascular leak syndrome and in rejection of allografts or xenografts. A newly identified CX3C-chemokine, fractalkine, expressed on activated ECs plays an important role in leukocyte adhesion and migration. In this study we examined the functional roles of fractalkine on NK cell activity and NK cell-mediated endothelial cell injury. Freshly separated NK cells expressed the fractalkine receptor (CX3CR1) determined by FACS analysis and efficiently adhered to immobilized full-length fractalkine, but not to the truncated forms of the chemokine domain or mucin domain, suggesting that fractalkine functions as an adhesion molecule on the interaction between NK cells and ECs. Soluble fractalkine enhanced NK cell cytolytic activity against K562 target cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This enhancement correlated well with increased granular exocytosis from NK cells, which was completely inhibited by the G protein inhibitor, pertussis toxin. Transfection of fractalkine cDNA into ECV304 cells or HUVECs resulted in increased adhesion of NK cells and susceptibility to NK cell-mediated cytolysis compared with control transfection. Moreover, both enhanced adhesion and susceptibility of fractalkine-transfected cells were markedly suppressed by soluble fractalkine or anti-CX3CR1 Ab. Our results suggest that fractalkine plays an important role not only in the binding of NK cells to endothelial cells, but also in NK cell-mediated endothelium damage, which may result in vascular injury.
Online Learning for Ground Trajectory Prediction

This paper presents a model based on an hybrid system to numerically simulate the climbing phase of an aircraft. This model is then used within a trajectory prediction tool. Finally, the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES) optimization algorithm is used to tune five selected parameters, and thus improve the accuracy of the model. Incorporated within a trajectory prediction tool, this model can be used to derive the order of magnitude of the prediction error over time, and thus the domain of validity of the trajectory prediction. A first validation experiment of the proposed model is based on the errors along time for a one-time trajectory prediction at the take off of the flight with respect to the default values of the theoretical BADA model. This experiment, assuming complete information, also shows the limit of the model. A second experiment part presents an on-line trajectory prediction, in which the prediction is continuously updated based on the current aircraft position. This approach raises several issues, for which improvements of the basic model are proposed, and the resulting trajectory prediction tool shows statistically significantly more accurate results than those of the default model.
On the Performance of Flooding-Based Resource Discovery

We consider flooding-based resource discovery in distributed systems. With flooding, a node searching for a resource contacts its neighbors in the network, which in turn contact their own neighbors and so on until a node possessing the requested resource is located. Flooding assumes no knowledge about the network topology or the resource distribution thus offering an attractive means for resource discovery in dynamically evolving networks such as peer-to-peer systems. We provide analytical results for the performance of a number of flooding-based approaches that differ in the set of neighbors contacted at each step. The performance metrics we are interested in are the probability of locating a resource and the average number of steps and messages for doing so. We study both uniformly random resource requests and requests in the presence of popular (hot) resources. Our analysis is also extended to take into account the fact that nodes may become unavailable either due to failures or voluntary departures from the system. Our analytical results are validated through simulation
Dementia caregiving in spousal relationships: A dyadic perspective

Objectives: The number of couples facing a dementia diagnosis for one partner of the spousal dyad increases. Spousal caregiving can be a highly stressful experience associated with negative caregiver outcomes such as depression and poorer immune function. However, surprisingly little is known about how the illness and the required care effects patient's well-being and relational changes experienced by afflicted couples. The aim of this study was to provide a literature review on how the dyadic perspective is taken into account and on how dementia effects both parts of the dyad. Methods: In order to outline findings about individual and dyadic well-being of affected couples, we conducted a literature search to review the three types of studies. First, studies focusing on one partner's perspective, usually the perspective of the caregiver; second, studies including the caregiver's and partially the care receiver's view; third, studies directly referring to both partners’ perspectives. Results: The majority of studies neglect the individual with dementia by exclusively assessing caregiver variables or only indirectly including patients’ characteristics. Very few studies embrace dyadic and relational variables to execute how both partners experience the illness, spousal caregiving, and changes in the relationship. Despite the arguable validity of self reports of individuals with dementia, some studies demonstrated the usefulness of including both partners’ perspectives. Discussion: Results indicate the urgent need of integrating the perspective of the individual with dementia to improve the understanding of the effects of dementia caregiving. Directly assessing the dyadic perspective of affected couples provides essential information for interventions.
Gender classification of subjects from cerebral blood flow changes using Deep Learning

In this study, using Deep Learning, the gender of subjects is classified the cerebral blood flow changes that are measured by fNIRS. It is reported that cerebral blood flow changes are triggered by brain activities. Thus, if this classification has a high searching accuracy, gender classification should be related to brain activities. In the experiment, fNIRS data are derived from subjects who perform a memory task in white noise environment. From the results, it is confirmed that the learning classifier exhibits high accuracy. This fact suggests that there exists a relation between cerebral blood flow changes and biological information.
Sexual selection can constrain sympatric speciation

Recent theory has suggested that sympatric speciation can occur quite easily when individuals that are ecologically similar mate assortatively. Although many of these models have assumed that individuals have equal mating success, in nature rare phenotypes may often suffer decreased mating success. Consequently, assortative mating may often generate stabilizing sexual selection. We show that this effect can substantially impede sympatric speciation. Our results emphasize the need for data on the strength of the stabilizing component of selection generated by mating in natural populations.
Cognitive Function and Assistive Technology for Cognition: A Systematic Review

Abstract The relationship between assistive technology for cognition (ATC) and cognitive function was examined using a systematic review. A literature search identified 89 publications reporting 91 studies of an ATC intervention in a clinical population. The WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was used to categorize the cognitive domains being assisted and the tasks being performed. Results show that ATC have been used to effectively support cognitive functions relating to attention, calculation, emotion, experience of self, higher level cognitive functions (planning and time management) and memory. The review makes three contributions: (1) It reviews existing ATC in terms of cognitive function, thus providing a framework for ATC prescription on the basis of a profile of cognitive deficits, (2) it introduces a new classification of ATC based on cognitive function, and (3) it identifies areas for future ATC research and development. (JINS, 2012, 18, 1–19)
Exploring Community Levels of Lead (Pb) and Youth Violence

ABSTRACT An emergent body of literature has documented a relationship between the lead (Pb) pollution (a structural form of violence) and crime (including interpersonal forms of violence) at the aggregate level. This study contributes to the lead and crime literature by exploring the relationship between lead and youth violence at the community level. To explore this association, data on lead, concentrated disadvantage, residential mobility, racial and ethnic heterogeneity, percentage divorced, and youth violence were obtained across the city of Chicago’s Community Areas (n = 77). Results from hot spot analyses, Ordinary Least Squares regressions, and a Geographically Weighted Regression suggest that not only do lead and youth violence appear to concentrate in the same communities, but increases in community lead level are associated with corresponding increases in youth violence 10 years after exposure. This study concludes with a discussion of theoretical and policy implications.