Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Designing Deliberation Systems

In a liberal democracy, the evolution of political agendas and formation of policy involves deliberation: serious consideration of political issues. Modern-day political participation is dependent on widespread deliberation supported by information and communication technologies, which also offer the potential to revitalize and transform citizen engagement in democracy. Although the majority of Web 2.0 systems enable these discourses to some extent, government institutions commission and manage specialized deliberation systems (information systems designed to support participative discourse) intended to promote citizen engagement. The most common examples of these are political discussion forums. Although usually considered trivial adaptations of well-known technologies, these types of deliberative systems are often unsuccessful, and present a distinct set of design and management challenges. In this article, the authors analyze the issues involved in establishing political deliberation systems under four headings: stakeholder engagement, Web platform design, service management, political process reshaping, and evaluation and improvement. We review the existing literature and present a longitudinal case study: the Norwegian Demokratitorget (Democracy Square). We define key issues in each of the four areas, which need to be understood to design and manage a successful net-based deliberation forum.
Situationism in psychology: an analysis and a critique.

This article critically analyzes the current tendency to account for human behavior largely in terms of the situation in which it occurs. This trend in effect substitutes a more or less behavioristic account of personality for a severely taxed trait conception. Although it is undoubtedly true that behavior is more situation specific than trait theory acknowledged, it is herein argued that situations are more person specific than is commonly recognized. The present article details metaphysical, psychological, and methodological assumptions and biases of situationism which have rendered it inattentive to the importance of the person in personality research. Finally, an interactionisl: account of personality is forwarded as an alternative to both a trait and a situationist position. Some recent and influential accounts of personality have emphasized the importance of the situational determinants of behavior while minimizing the importance of disposi1 Work on this article was begun when I was on sabbatical at Stanford University. Grateful appreciation is extended to Ernest R. Hilgard for his generous moral and financial support throughout the year, the latter under his Grant NIH MH 03859-10 from the National Institute of Mental Health. I would like to extend my thanks to Robert
Moving to opportunity: an experimental study of neighborhood effects on mental health.

OBJECTIVES The health consequences of neighborhood poverty are a public health problem. Data were obtained to examine links between neighborhood residence and mental health outcomes. METHODS Moving to Opportunity was a randomized, controlled trial in which families from public housing in high-poverty neighborhoods were moved into private housing in near-poor or nonpoor neighborhoods, with a subset remaining in public housing. At the 3-year follow-up of the New York site, 550 families were reinterviewed. RESULTS Parents who moved to low-poverty neighborhoods reported significantly less distress than parents who remained in high-poverty neighborhoods. Boys who moved to less poor neighborhoods reported significantly fewer anxious/depressive and dependency problems than did boys who stayed in public housing. CONCLUSIONS This study provides experimental evidence of neighborhood income effects on mental health.
Iterated square root unscented Kalman particle filter

In order to improve tracking estimation accuracy of square-root unscented Kalman particle filter (SRUKFPF), a new particle filter algorithm of update SRUKF based on iterated measurements is proposed. The algorithm produces the important density function of particle filter using maximum posteriori estimate of iterated square-root unscented Kalman filter, and amends the state covariance using Levenberg-Marquardt method, so that the observed information of particle is effectively used. This is more consistent with the posterior probability distribution of true state. Simulation results show that estimation performance of the proposed algorithm is much better than standard particle filter (PF), unscented particle filter (UPF) and square root unscented Kalman particle filter (SRUKFPF).
Mechanisms of Action of Antipsychotic Drugs of Different Classes, Refractoriness to Therapeutic Effects of Classical Neuroleptics, and Individual Variation in Sensitivity to their Actions: PART I

Many issues remain unresolved about antipsychotic drugs. Their therapeutic potency scales with affinity for dopamine D2 receptors, but there are indications that they act indirectly, with dopamine D1 receptors (and others) as possible ultimate targets. Classical neuroleptic drugs disinhibit striatal cholinergic interneurones and increase acetyl choline release. Their effects may then depend on stimulation of muscarinic receptors on principle striatal neurones (M4 receptors, with reduction of cAMP formation, for therapeutic effects; M1 receptors for motor side effects). Many psychotic patients do not benefit from neuroleptic drugs, or develop resistance to them during prolonged treatment, but respond well to clozapine. For patients who do respond, there is a wide (>ten-fold) range in optimal doses. Refractoriness or low sensitivity to antipsychotic effects (and other pathologies) could then arise from low density of cholinergic interneurones. Clozapine probably owes its special actions to direct stimulation of M4 receptors, a mechanism available when indirect action is lost.
A comparative study of family social capital and literacy practices in Singapore

Social capital – the social relations between people – is an important component of the family environment and is crucial for the creation of human capital for the next generation. Drawing on James S. Coleman’s theory of family capital, this study focuses on parents’ utilization of social capital to support children’s literacy acquisition in four Singaporean and immigrant middle-class Chinese families in Singapore. Comparative analyses of observation and interview data reveal that these families differed not only in the volume of social capital they possessed but also in the activation of this capital for their children’s biliteracy and educational development. They also reveal that the parents’ application of social capital is motivated by such factors as the status of the family (immigrant or native), parental occupation, parents’ educational views and the family’s acculturation to the host society (in the case of immigrant families). Furthermore, a family’s skilful use of its social capital could compensate for a relative shortage of human capital. These findings, taken as a whole, contribute to Coleman’s theory by disentangling potential from actualized social capital.
Extending the Semantics in Natural Language Understanding

Natural Language understanding over a set of sentences or a document is a challenging problem. We approach this problem using semantic extraction and building an ontology for answering questions based on the data. There is more information in a sentence than found by extracting out the visible terms and their obvious relations between one another. Keeping track of inferences, quantities, inheritance, properties, and set related information is what gives this approach the advantage over alternatives. Our methodology was tested against the FraCas Test Suite with near perfect results for the sections: Generalized Quantifiers, Plurals, Adjectives, Comparatives, Verbs, and Attitudes. The results indicate that extracting the visible semantics as well as the unseen semantics and their interrelations using an ontology to logically provide reliable and provable answers to questions validating our
A Validation and Comparative Study of Kinetic Family Drawings of Native American Children

Problem. Research on how Native American (NA) children draw their families and how perceptions of their families are reflected in their family drawings is lacking. The purpose of the study was (1) to validate the Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) as an appropriate instrument for use with this population, and (2) to compare Native American and Caucasian children's KFDs. Method. The KFD and Semantic Differential Scales were administered to 52 Native American children from the Potawatomi and Iroquois tribes, ages 6-14. A matched sample of 104 KFDs of Caucasian children from Southern Michigan was used for comparison. The data were analyzed by multiple regression, t-tests, and analysis of variance. The value of alpha was set at.05. Results. (1) The Semantic Differential obtained significant correlations with the KFD. Family pictures drawn with the child outside, a higher level of activity of mother and self, mother and self involved in less nurturing activities, fewer barriers between mother and self, and less direct physical orientation between figures correlated with a higher rating of family relationships. (2) Statistically significant differences were found between the KFDs of Native American and Caucasian children, although the mode scores for both groups were identical for all KFD variables related to action, physical, position, and style characteristics. (3) Some differences were found between the KFDs of children differing in proportion of Native American ancestry and attendance rate at NA cultural events, although these differences were not the same for both groups. No differences were found relating to birth order. Differences between NA and Caucasian females and males were noted. The majority of the pictures were free from KFD style characteristics; over 67% drew all the figures facing forward. Conclusions. The findings of this study indicated that the KFD is a valid instrument for use with this population if cultural and mainstream societal trends are considered in the interpretation. Even though differences were apparent between Native American and Caucasian children, Native American children from this sample might be exhibiting a more acculturated picture than other minority groups. Generalizability was limited due to aself-selected, small sample size.
Utilisation of erythrocyte 6-thioguanine metabolite levels to optimise azathioprine therapy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND AND AIM The immunosuppressive properties of 6-mercaptopurine and its parent compound azathioprine are mediated by their intracellular metabolism into active 6-thioguanine (6-TG) metabolites. Measurement of erythrocyte 6-TG metabolite levels has been proposed as a useful clinical tool for assessing treatment efficacy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). AIM The purpose of the study was to establish a therapeutic index of treatment efficacy based on measurement of erythrocyte 6-TG metabolite levels, and apply it clinically to guide therapy. METHODS Heparinised blood was obtained from 82 adult patients with IBD on long term (more than three months) antimetabolite therapy (63 Crohn's disease; 19 ulcerative colitis). Erythrocyte 6-TG metabolite levels were measured using reverse phase high performance chromatography, and correlated with treatment efficacy. In 22 patients with refractory Crohn's disease despite long term azathioprine therapy, their dosage was increased by 25 mg/day at eight week intervals as needed. Serial erythrocyte 6-TG metabolite levels were measured at each clinic visit and correlated with treatment efficacy. RESULTS Clinical remission, as defined by a low disease index score in patients weaned off or on a low alternate day dose (<20 mg on alternate days) of corticosteroid, was achieved in 68% of patients on long term antimetabolite therapy. Treatment efficacy correlated with erythrocyte 6-TG levels greater than 250 pmol/8×108 red blood cells in patients with colonic and fistulising Crohn's disease (p<0.01) but not in patients with ileocolonic disease. Eighteen of 22 patients with incompletely responsive Crohn's disease achieved disease remission by optimising their dose of azathioprine therapy. Median (range) erythrocyte 6-TG metabolite levels increased from 194 (67–688) to 303 (67–737) pmol/8×108 red blood cells (p<0.05). Clinical response associated well with a reduction in corticosteroid requirements. Mean (SEM) white blood cell count decreased from 8.6 (0.9) to 6.9 (0.6) ×103/μl with adjustment in azathioprine dosage. No patient incurred azathioprine induced leucopenia. CONCLUSION Measurement of erythrocyte 6-TG metabolite levels is helpful in determining the adequacy of azathioprine dosage and can be used to optimise the dose of antimetabolite therapy to achieve an improved clinical response without inducing leucopenia. Patients who are clinically refractory to azathioprine therapy despite achieving high erythrocyte 6-TG levels (>250) should be considered for adjunct or alternative forms of immunosuppressive therapy or surgery.
Analysis of Dynamic frame Aloha with frame restart

This paper provides an analysis of the Dynamic frame Aloha (DFA) protocol with frame Restart. Although a previous work has numerically provided the best restarting strategy when the number of tags N is known, that strategy is represented by a table whose entries are so many to be impractical for high values of N. Here we provide a simpler set of equations that, besides the optimal strategy, lead to a very simple sub-optimal strategy whose performance is practically indistinguishable from the optimal one. Furthermore, we prove that asymptotically the Frame Restart property is useless, being the corresponding efficiency equal to e-1, the same as the plain DFA. We investigate the strategies and performance when N is unknown, furthermore providing a procedure, called AE2, that is able to asymptotically reach the theoretical efficiency e-1.
The Effect of Subject-Oriented and Experimenter-Imposed Feedback Schedules on Skill Acquisition in Children

Though it is common coaching practice to provide augmented feedback after Poor performances, recent literature suggest that allowing individuals to receive Feedback when they request it (a self-controlled schedule) enhances motor learning. The purpose of this study was comparison between effect of feedback after good, poor, good-poor trials and self-control Condition In acquisition and learning of force production task. To achieve this goal, 40 subjects (21 men, 19 women) with mean age of 10.5 years were divided into four groups of feedback after good, poor, good-poor trials and self - control feedback group. All four groups produced 10 kg force in 12 blocks of 6 trials (12×6). All participants received knowledge of results (KR) on two trials in each 6-trial block. While one group (KR good) received KR for the two most effective trials, another (KR poor) received KR for the two least effective trials, third group received KR for one most effective and least effective trials and self control group was provided with feedback whenever they requested only for three trials. We use two-way ANOVA in acquisition stage and one way ANOVA in retention test. There were no group differences in acquisition phase. However, the KR good group showed learning advantages on a delayed retention test. And the good group has better performance than self-control condition group. This result indicated that in experimenter control condition, learning is facilitated if feedback is provided after good trial rather than poor or good-poor trial. Also feedback schedule based on coach oriented method is more effective than subject oriented method. The finding is interpreted as evidence for a motivational function of feedback. Overall, we can conclude that given feedback after good trial is very effective for skill learning. Hence, this approach can be used as a best method of given feedback for athletes and coaches.
Blood Transfusion Policies in Elective General Surgery: How to Optimise Cross-Match-to-Transfusion Ratios

Objective: Preoperative over-ordering of blood is common and leads to the wastage of blood bank resources. The preoperative blood ordering and transfusion practices for common elective general surgical procedures were evaluated in our university hospital to formulate a maximum surgical blood order schedule (MSBOS) for those procedures where a cross-match appears necessary. Methods: We evaluated blood ordering practices retrospectively in all elective general surgical procedures in our institution over a 6-month period. Cross-match-to-transfusion ratios (C:T) were calculated and compared to current trust and the British Society of Haematology (BSH) guidelines. The adjusted C:T ratio was also calculated and was defined as the C:T ratio when only cross-matched blood used intraoperatively was included in the calculation. Results: 541 patients were identified during the 6-month period. There were 314 minor and 227 major surgeries carried out. 99.6% (n = 226) of the patients who underwent major surgery and 95.5% (n = 300) of the patients having minor surgery had at least a group and save (G and S) test preoperatively. A total of 507 units of blood were cross-matched and 238 units were used. The overall C:T ratio was therefore 2.1:1, which corresponds to a 46.9% red cell usage. There was considerable variation in the C:T ratio, depending on the type of surgery performed. The adjusted C:T ratio varied between 3.75 and 37. Conclusions: Compliance with transfusion policies is poor and over-ordering of blood products commonplace. Implementation of the updated recommended MSBOS and introduction of G and S for eligible surgical procedures is a safe, effective and cost-effective method to prevent preoperative over-ordering of blood in elective general surgery. Savings of GBP 8,596.00 per annum are achievable with the incorporation of updated evidence-based guidelines in our university hospital.
Experimentally driven design of a palpating gripper with minimally invasive surgery considerations

A natural extension of current robotic minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is the addition of tactile and kinesthetic feedback, which would give an operating surgeon valuable haptic information about tissue under observation. Identification of haptic properties requires active exploration [1][2]. It is believed that such exploration may be facilitated by a tool capable of replicating the major exploratory procedures (EPs; haptic information gleaning maneuvers) of a surgeon. Such a tool must also fit within the fabrication and other constraints of similar MIS tools. In this paper the requirements of such a gripper are highlighted via experiments with surgeons. The results have been used to develop a 2-finger, 3dof (degree of freedom) gripper based on an inverted closed chain serial manipulator. A primary advantage of this system is its dexterity and compactness, compared to other manipulators. The gripper is shown to be capable of replicating the most frequently observed two-finger exploratory procedures. It is argued that a single tactile sensor is sufficiently useful for a two fingered system and a scaled prototype of the system has been designed to accommodate such a sensor. This system has been designed with later laparoscopic grade manufacture in mind.
Replicating Anomalies in China

This paper constructs 231 anomalies based on stock trading data and financial statement data in China’s A-share stock market. With single portfolio analysis in all A-share sample and value-weighted returns, 41 anomalies (about 17.7%) are significant at the 5% level (the absolute t-value ≥ 1.96) from 2000 to 2017. Among these significant anomalies, 16 and 13 are from the trading frictions and value-versus-growth groups, respectively. With the absolute t-cutoff of 2.78, the number of significant anomalies reduces to 13.
Emerging Markets for RFID Traces

RFID tags are held to become ubiquitous in logistics in the near future, and item-level tagging will pave the way for Ubiquitous Computing, for example in application fields like smart homes. Our paper addresses the value and the production cost of information that can be gathered by observing these tags over time and different locations. We argue that RFID technology will induce a thriving market for such information, resulting in easy data access for analysts to infer business intelligence and individual profiles of unusually high detail. Understanding these information markets is important for many reasons: They represent new business opportunities, and market players need to be aware of their roles in these markets. Policy makers need to confirm that the market structure will not negatively affect overall welfare. Finally, though we are not addressing the complex issue of privacy, we are convinced that market forces will have a significant impact on the effectiveness of deployed security enhancements to RFID technology. In this paper we take a few first steps into a relatively new field of economic research and conclude with a list of research problems that promise deeper insights into the matter.
Regulation of Argonaute Slicer Activity by Guide RNA 3′ End Interactions with the N-terminal Lobe*

Background: Argonaute proteins associate with siRNAs and miRNAs to repress gene expression. Results: The N-terminal lobe of Argonaute regulates slicer activity on target mRNAs. Conclusion: RNA binding interactions with the Argonaute proteins determine whether the target mRNA is regulated through slicer-dependent or -independent pathway. Significance: The study provides mechanistic understanding of how Argonaute proteins differentially mediate the RNAi and miRNA-mediated repression pathways. Structural studies indicate that binding of both the guide RNA (siRNA and miRNA) and the target mRNA trigger substantial conformational changes in the Argonaute proteins. Here we explore the role of the N-terminal lobe (and its PAZ domain) in these conformational changes using biochemical and cell culture-based approaches. In vitro, whereas deletion (or mutation) of the N-terminal lobe of DmAgo1 and DmAgo2 had no effect on binding affinity to guide RNAs, we observed a loss of protection of the 3′ end of the guide RNA and decreased target RNA binding; consistent with this, in cells, loss of function DmAgo1 PAZ variant proteins (PAZ6 and ΔN-PAZ) still bind RNA, although the RNAs are shorter than normal. We also find that deletion of the N-terminal lobe results in constitutive activation of endogenous PIWI domain-based cleavage activity in vitro, providing insights into how cleavage activity may be regulated in vivo in response to different types of pairing interactions with the target mRNAs.
A Robust Control Strategy of Redundant Manipulator by Workspace Observer

This paper describes a decoupling force control strategy of redundant manipulator by workspace observer. In general, the calculation process of the redundant manipulator becomes complicated as the number of degree-of-freedom motion increases since the controller includes the pseudo inverse Jacobian matrix. To improve this issue, we develop a simplification method of the inverse kinematics solution including null space calculation by using the transposed Jacobian matrix, and the workspace observer. Here the stable condition of the proposed controller is also shown. Its condition is an important index to construct the stable workspace observer.The validity of the proposed method is confirmed by the numerical and experimental results in the 3link planar redundant manipulator.