Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Specificity, context and the learnability of grammar: a commentary on Stemmer

Stemmer wishes to demonstrate that there is a possible learning procedure whereby the child uses information provided from the speech environment (discourse context) to learn structure-dependent linguistic rules. The procedures for learning that Stemmer details concern the acquisition of a structure-dependent rule for passive sentences. The rules Stemmer’s learner hypothesizes will accommodate the fact that there is a rectangular relationship between the subject and object position of an active sentence, such as ’Bill kicked Tom’, and (respectively) the by-object and surface subject position of its passive equivalent, ’Tom was kicked by Bill’, and will permit structurally varied and complex elements to occupy the NP positions in the active and passive sentences. Stemmer proposes the rules are posited by the learner on the basis of contextually supported information concerning the meaning of the predicates and NPs in active and passive sentence and other sentence types that give clues to the internal structure of NPs. The fact that such a learning procedure can be specified is taken by Stemmer to diminish the case for an innate syntactic component of linguistic ability. My main problem with Stemmer’s proposals is that I do not see what it is in the environment that provides the child with the concepts that are encoded in his rules, such as the rule Rl, repeated here,
Students' Opinions of Their Best and Poorest Teachers

The investigation here reported was conducted because the writer believes that normal-school students should analyze the characteristics possessed by teachers, efficient as well as inefficient. Lists of characteristics of good teachers and poor teachers should be of value to normal-school st udents. They should use these as "pedagogical guides" while striving toward the development of teaching skill. In June, 1927, eight groups of students in the Philadelphia Normal School were asked to respond to the following directions.
A Corpus and Semantic Parser for Multilingual Natural Language Querying of OpenStreetMap

We present a corpus of 2,380 natural language queries paired with machine readable formulae that can be executed against world wide geographic data of the OpenStreetMap (OSM) database. We use the corpus to learn an accurate semantic parser that builds the basis of a natural language interface to OSM. Furthermore, we use response-based learning on parser feedback to adapt a statistical machine translation system for multilingual database access to OSM. Our framework allows to map fuzzy natural language expressions such as “nearby”, “north of”, or “in walking distance” to spatial polygons on an interactive map. Furthermore, it combines syntactic complexity and compositionality with a reasonable lexical variability of queries, making it an interesting new publicly available dataset for research on semantic parsing.
‘Voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ early retirement: an international analysis

Recent literature makes a distinction between ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ early retirement, where ‘involuntary’ early retirement results from employment constraints rather than from a preference for leisure relative to work. This article analyses ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ early retirement based on international microdata covering 19 industrialized countries. The results show that ‘involuntary’ early retirement is particularly widespread in Continental Europe. Countries facing economic recessions and having strict employment protection legislation have higher shares of ‘involuntary’ retirements among early retirees. Generous early retirement provisions of the social security system do not only make ‘voluntary’ early retirement more attractive for individuals, but also induce firms to push more employees to retire early.
On the Monotonicity of Fuzzy-Inference Methods Related to T–S Inference Method

Yubazaki et al. have proposed a ¿single-input rule modules connected-type fuzzy-inference method¿ (SIRMs method) whose final output is obtained by combining the products of the importance degrees and the inference results from single-input fuzzy-rule modules. Moreover, Seki et al. have proposed a ¿functional-type SIRMs method¿ whose consequent parts are generalized to functions from real numbers. It is expected that inference results from the functional-type SIRMs method are monotone, if the antecedent parts and the consequent parts of fuzzy rules in the functional-type SIRMs rule modules are monotone. However, this paper points out that even if consequent parts in the functional-type SIRMs rule modules are monotone, the inference results are not necessarily monotone when the antecedent parts are noncomparable fuzzy sets, and it clarifies the conditions for the monotonicity of inference results from the functional-type SIRMs method. Moreover, for the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) inference method, the monotonicity condition is clarified in the case of two inputs by using the equivalence relation of fuzzy inference.
5% lidocaine medicated plaster in painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN): a systematic review.

BACKGROUND Several pharmacological treatments are used to manage painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). OBJECTIVE To compare 5% lidocaine medicated plaster (5%LMP) for the relief of DPN with other relevant interventions and placebo. METHODS Six databases were searched up to June 2009. Quantitative methods for data synthesis were used and a network meta-analysis was conducted. RESULTS Twenty-three studies (38 publications) were included. One study compared 5%LMP with pregabalin and indicated the non-inferiority of 5%LMP for pain reduction. DPN patients experienced a greater improvement in quality of life when using 5%LMP compared to pregabalin. Adverse events were significantly fewer in patients treated with 5%LMP. In the network meta-analysis, all interventions remained effective in comparison with placebo (mean difference in change of pain from baseline compared with placebo, amitriptyline: -12.58 [95% CI -16.66 to -8.50]; capsaicin: -9.40 [95% CI -13.92 to -4.88]; gabapentin: -10.22 [95% CI -17.25 to -3.19]; pregabalin: -10.53 [95% CI -14.74 to -6.32]; 5%LMP: -9.10 [95% CI -13.93 to -4.26]) and 5%LMP was comparable to all other interventions (amitriptyline: 3.48 [95% CI -0.78 to 7.75]; capsaicin: 0.31 [95% CI -4.39 to 5.00]; gabapentin: 1.12 [95% CI -6.02 to 8.27]; pregabalin: 1.43 [95% CI -2.96 to 5.83]). CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that the effects in pain reduction of 5% lidocaine medicated plaster are comparable to those of amitriptyline, capsaicin, gabapentin and pregabalin. Topical agents such as 5%LMP may be associated with fewer and less clinically significant adverse events than is the case for systemic agents. However, the results are limited by the number and size of studies included, and thus further studies are needed.
Evidence that 5′‐Cytidinediphosphocholine Can Affect Brain Phospholipid Composition by Increasing Choline and Cytidine Plasma Levels

Abstract: We examined the effects of orally administered 5′‐cytidinediphosphocholine (CDP‐choline) on arterial plasma choline and cytidine levels and on brain phospholipid composition in rats. Animals receiving a single oral dose of 100, 250, or 500 mg/kg showed peak plasma choline levels 6–8 h after drug administration (from 12 ± 1 to 17 ± 2, 19 ± 2, and 24 ± 2 µM, respectively). The area under the plasma choline curve at >14 µM, i.e., at a concentration that induces a net influx of choline into the brain, was significantly correlated with CDP‐choline dose. In rats receiving 500 mg/kg this area was 2.3 times that of animals consuming 250 mg/kg, which in turn was 1.8 times that of rats receiving 100 mg/kg. Plasma cytidine concentrations increased 5.4, 6.5, and 15.1 times baseline levels, respectively, 8 h after each of the three doses. When the oral CDP‐choline treatment was prolonged for 42 and 90 days, brain phosphatidylcholine concentrations increased significantly (by 22–25%; p < 0.05) in rats consuming 500 mg/kg/day. Brain phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine concentrations also increased significantly under some experimental conditions; levels of other phospholipids were unchanged.
Asking the Right Questions in Crowd Data Sourcing

Crowd-based data sourcing is a new and powerful data procurement paradigm that engages Web users to collectively contribute information. In this work, we target the problem of gathering data from the crowd in an economical and principled fashion. We present Ask It! , a system that allows interactive data sourcing applications to effectively determine which questions should be directed to which users for reducing the uncertainty about the collected data. Ask It! uses a set of novel algorithms for minimizing the number of probing (questions) required from the different users. We demonstrate the challenge and our solution in the context of a multiple-choice question game played by the ICDE'12 attendees, targeted to gather information on the conference's publications, authors and colleagues.
Docking and scoring protein interactions: CAPRI 2009

Protein docking algorithms are assessed by evaluating blind predictions performed during 2007–2009 in Rounds 13–19 of the community‐wide experiment on critical assessment of predicted interactions (CAPRI). We evaluated the ability of these algorithms to sample docking poses and to single out specific association modes in 14 targets, representing 11 distinct protein complexes. These complexes play important biological roles in RNA maturation, G‐protein signal processing, and enzyme inhibition and function. One target involved protein–RNA interactions not previously considered in CAPRI, several others were hetero‐oligomers, or featured multiple interfaces between the same protein pair. For most targets, predictions started from the experimentally determined structures of the free (unbound) components, or from models built from known structures of related or similar proteins. To succeed they therefore needed to account for conformational changes and model inaccuracies. In total, 64 groups and 12 web‐servers submitted docking predictions of which 4420 were evaluated. Overall our assessment reveals that 67% of the groups, more than ever before, produced acceptable models or better for at least one target, with many groups submitting multiple high‐ and medium‐accuracy models for two to six targets. Forty‐one groups including four web‐servers participated in the scoring experiment with 1296 evaluated models. Scoring predictions also show signs of progress evidenced from the large proportion of correct models submitted. But singling out the best models remains a challenge, which also adversely affects the ability to correctly rank docking models. With the increased interest in translating abstract protein interaction networks into realistic models of protein assemblies, the growing CAPRI community is actively developing more efficient and reliable docking and scoring methods for everyone to use. Proteins 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Risco e gênero: medindo a tolerância ao risco e as diferenças entre os gêneros

In recent years there has been a growing interest among researchers and fund managers in understanding investor’s behavior towards risk. The lack of a standard model leads financial professionals to develop and use simplified methods, usually limited to simple conversations with clients about their level of well being in a variety of scenarios (GRABLE; LYTTON, 2001). The present article has two main objectives. The first objective is to develop and to verify the validity of a research instrument for the classification of investors according to their risk tolerance. The second objective is to verify if gender has an influence on risk tolerance. A total of 544 questionnaires were applied to undergraduate and post-graduate students of seven Brazilian universities. A Factor Analysis established that there are three different risk factors in this research. When compared to the SCF question, the correlation analysis showed that the research questionnaire is able to determine other factors. The segmentation of the sample according to gender showed that women are more risk-averse than men, as documented by other studies. documented by other studies.
Understanding and Reducing Disability in Older Adults Following Critical Illness*

Objective:To review how disability can develop in older adults with critical illness and to explore ways to reduce long-term disability following critical illness. Data Sources:We searched PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science and Google Scholar for studies reporting disability outcomes (i.e., activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and mobility activities) and/or cognitive outcomes among patients treated in an ICU who were 65 years or older. We also reviewed the bibliographies of relevant citations to identify additional citations. Study Selection:We identified 19 studies evaluating disability outcomes in critically ill patients who were 65 years and older. Data Extraction:Descriptive epidemiologic data on disability after critical illness. Data Synthesis:Newly acquired disability in activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and mobility activities was commonplace among older adults who survived a critical illness. Incident dementia and less severe cognitive impairment were also highly prevalent. Factors related to the acute critical illness, ICU practices, such as heavy sedation, physical restraints, and immobility, as well as aging physiology, and coexisting geriatric conditions can combine to result in these poor outcomes. Conclusions:Older adults who survive critical illness have physical and cognitive declines resulting in disability at greater rates than hospitalized, noncritically ill and community dwelling older adults. Interventions derived from widely available geriatric care models in use outside of the ICU, which address modifiable risk factors including immobility and delirium, are associated with improved functional and cognitive outcomes and can be used to complement ICU-focused models such as the ABCDEs.
Swarm tracking approach for global probabilistic tractography with spherical deconvolution

Current probabilistic tractography methods require huge a number of samples to properly explore the state space, and produce diffused trajectories that suggest connections in unexpected region. This paper presents a global probabilistic tractography using a swarm optimization technique based on spherical deconvolution (SD), which considers both the local fiber orientation distribution and the global optimal fibers information in a collaborative manner. It is based on a learning strategy where the fibers with high probability measurements are iteratively selected. The proposed algorithm is validated and compared to alternative methods on Fiber Cup phantom and in-vivo data.
How schemas affect eyewitness memory over repeated retrieval attempts

After observing a crime eyewitnesses are typically interviewed many times over an extended period of time. We examined how schema for a crime influenced the types of information eyewitnesses remembered and forgot across multiple interviews. People's schema for a bank robbery were identified, and recall of schema-consistent, schema-inconsistent and schema-irrelevant information was extracted from eyewitness interviews conducted in two experiments which manipulated retention interval (3 days–12 weeks) and number of interviews (2–4). Consistent with fuzzy-trace and associative network theories, schemas preserved accuracy for information central to the crime (schema-consistent and inconsistent) at the expense of schema-irrelevant information. Schema-consistent intrusions did not increase across interviews. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sulfhydryl Dependence in Primary Explant Hematopoietic Cells . Inhibition of Growth In Vitro with Vitamin B 12 Compounds ( murine leukemia / bone marrow culture / sulfhydryl oxidation / disulfide toxicity

Primary explants of P388, EL-4, and L1210 murine leukemia cells and of normal mouse bone marrow are shown to require sulfhydryl compounds for proliferation in vitro. Nine established cell lines show no stimulation by these compounds. Leukemia cells can lose the sulfhydryl dependence after various periods of adaptation to in vitro culture. Various sulfhydryl compounds have widely differing potencies in promoting in vitro proliferation of dependent cells. The effect appears to be specific for sulfhydryl groups in the reduced form. Vitamin B12 compounds inhibit the growth of sulfhydryl-requiring cells, apparently by catalyzing the oxidation of the sulfhydryl
Grounding Knowledge of Schools in Stakeholder Realities: A Multi-Perspective Study of Effective School Leaders

Leadership provided by the headteacher is widely acknowledged to be a crucial variable in determining the effectiveness of schools. However, the majority of leadership studies consist of either surveys or interviews which the researcher has conducted with head teachers or case studies written by the head teachers which draw heavily upon their own experience, and as such are essentially 'autobiographical' in the perspective they provide on leadership in schools (Ribbins & Sherratt, 1992). The objectives of this article are to: set out a new model of effective school leadership based on recently completed empirical research; demonstrate how the multi-perspective methodology adopted contributed to a critique of existing models of leadership and the development of a new grounded model and discuss the analytical issues raised by the multi-perspective methodology which involved all the stakeholders in a school community.
Perceived Emotional and Life Change Impact of AIDS on Homosexual Men in Two Countries

Abstract A comprehensive self-administered life event inventory examining both general life stress and stress from events specific to the homosexual and bisexual male population was developed in order to assess the impact of AIDS and HIV infection on homo- and bisexual men. Ranking of questions revealed that while general stressors affected homosexuals similarly to heterosexuals, there were critical stressors affecting homosexuals not measured by conventional inventories. Specifically, emotional distress from receiving an HIV antibody positive result was not significantly different to that caused by a diagnosis of AIDS or ARC, the diagnosis of AIDS in a lover or the death of a lover. A sharp discrepancy in emotional distress between current safer sex behaviour and current unsafe sexual behaviour was also found, and the implications for behavioural modification in this area noted. Those who were HIV antibody positive tended to evaluate the anticipated impact of further AIDS related diagnoses as having a gr.
Ethical Perspectives on Qualitative Research in Applied Psychology.

The present article explores ethical issues that emerge in qualitative research conducted by applied psychologists. The utility and relevance of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (American Psychological Association, 2002) for qualitative research are examined. The importance of psychology's fiduciary relationship with research participants is presented as the basis for an ethical stance of trustworthiness. A scientist-practitioner perspective on research ethics is advanced, based on the argument that psychology's social role carries obligations that differ from those of other social science disciplines that conduct qualitative research. Dilemmas that are likely to emerge in qualitative research are discussed, with particular attention to competence, multiple relationships, confidentiality, and informed consent.
Quality of experience estimation for adaptive HTTP/TCP video streaming using H.264/AVC

Video services are being adopted widely in both mobile and fixed networks. For their successful deployment, the content providers are increasingly becoming interested in evaluating the performance of such traffic from the final users' perspective, that is, their Quality of Experience (QoE). For this purpose, subjective quality assessment methods are costly and can not be used in real time. Therefore, automatic estimation of QoE is highly desired. In this paper, we propose a no-reference QoE monitoring module for adaptive HTTP streaming using TCP and the H.264 video codec. HTTP streaming using TCP is the popular choice of many web based and IPTV applications due to the intrinsic advantages of the protocol. Moreover, these applications do not suffer from video data loss due to the reliable nature of the transport layer. However, there can be playout interruptions and if adaptive bitrate video streaming is used then the quality of video can vary due to lossy compression. Our QoE estimation module, based on Random Neural Networks, models the impact of both factors. The results presented in this paper show that our model accurately captures the relation between them and QoE.
Effects of the Wave Function Localization in AlInGaN Quaternary Alloys

Using the first-principles band-structure method and the special quasirandom structures approach, the authors have investigated the band structure of random AlxInyGa1-x-yN quaternary alloys. They show that the wave functions of the band edge states are more localized on the InN sites. Consequently, the photoluminescence transition intensity in the alloy is higher than that in GaN. The valence band maximum state of the quaternary alloy is also higher than GaN with the same band gap, indicating that the alloy can be doped more easily as p-type. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.
Gender and Opinions about Mental Illness as Predictors of Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help.

Abstract Help-seeking attitudes have been an important part of research into the kinds of college students who do and do not seek psychotherapy. The current study investigated the relationship between students' opinions about mental illness and their attitudes toward seeking professional help. By also using gender as a predictor of help-seeking attitudes, the researchers examined the effects of opinions about mental illness on help-seeking attitudes above and beyond well-known gender effects. This is important because opinions about mental illness are the kind of attitudinal variables that should be more modifiable than gender identity. The results indicate that females had more positive attitudes toward seeking help than males, and that people's opinions about mental illness, especially more benevolent, less authoritarian, less socially restrictive and higher mental hygiene ideology perspectives, accounted for a significant percentage of positive help-seeking attitudes beyond the percentage accounted for.