Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of binding study advice on study behavior and pre-university education qualification factors in a problem-based psychology bachelor program

In the Netherlands, university programs increasingly use the binding study advice (BSA) to select students after the first year. Students with insufficient progress after the first year and who therefore do not conform to pre-defined BSA norms have to quit their program. This study investigated whether the introduction of the BSA is associated with differences in first-year study behaviors and students' pre-university education qualifications when entering university, which has to date been unexplored. Cohorts to which the BSA did (BSA group) or did not apply (pre-BSA group) in a problem-based psychology bachelor program were compared. Results showed that students' observed learning activities were rated higher by tutors after the BSA introduction than before. The BSA group did not spend more time on self-study and obtained lower course test scores than the pre-BSA group. At enrolment, differences were found in students' level of prior education but not with respect to their pre-university grades.
Opposing Art: Rejection as an Action Tendency of Hostile Aesthetic Emotions

One of Berlyne's many intriguing ideas was that aesthetic feelings have implications for behavior, particularly actions associated with approach, avoidance, and exploration. Later models of aesthetic emotions, however, have not addressed the implications of aesthetic emotions for action. Using controversial contemporary photography, two experiments examined the behavioral implications of negative emotions. Feelings of anger and disgust predicted self-reported indicators of rejection (Experiment 1) and the probability of choosing to receive a controversial postcard as a gift (Experiment 2). These findings illustrate relationships between appraisal, emotions, and action tendencies, and they expand the evidence for the appraisal approach to aesthetic emotions.
Joint work and power for both the forelimb and hindlimb during trotting in the horse

SUMMARY The net work of the limbs during constant speed over level ground should be zero. However, the partitioning of negative and positive work between the fore- and hindlimbs of a quadruped is not likely to be equal because the forelimb produces a net braking force while the hindlimb produces a net propulsive force. It was hypothesized that the forelimb would do net negative work while the hindlimb did net positive work during trotting in the horse. Because vertical and horizontal impulses remain unchanged across speeds it was hypothesized that net work of both limbs would be independent of speed. Additionally because the major mass of limb musculature is located proximally, it was hypothesized that proximal joints would do more work than distal joints. Kinetic and kinematic analysis were combined using inverse dynamics to calculate work and power for each joint of horses trotting at between 2.5 and 5.0 m s–1. Work done by the hindlimb was indeed positive (consistently 0.34 J kg–1 across all speeds), but, contrary to our hypothesis, net work by the forelimb was essentially zero (but also independent of trotting speed). The zero net work of the forelimb may be the consequence of our not being able to account, experimentally, for the negative work done by the extrinsic muscles connecting the scapula and the thorax. The distal three joints of both limbs behaved elastically with a period of energy absorption followed by energy return. Proximal forelimb joints (elbow and shoulder) did no net work, because there was very little movement of the elbow and shoulder during the portion of stance when an extensor moment was greatest. Of the two proximal hindlimb joints, the hip did positive work during the stride, generating energy almost throughout stance. The knee did some work, but like the forelimb proximal joints, had little movement during the middle of stance when the flexion moment was the greatest, probably serving to allow the efficient transmission of energy from the hip musculature to the ground.
Gymnasts in training: The differential effects of self-and coach-set goals as a function of locus of control

Abstract This study investigated the relationship between goal-setting strategies and locus of control on on-task behavior. Four female Level 8 and 9 gymnasts were selected to participate, two with an internal, and two an external locus of control. Using a within-subjects, alternating treatment design, subjects were exposed to both self-and coach-set goal conditions. Results revealed a differential effect; subjects with a more internal locus of control spent relatively more time on-task under the self-set goal condition while those with a more external locus of control spent more time on-task when the coach set their goals. Implications for the theoretical understanding of goal setting processes as well as more applied considerations for coaching practice are considered.
Children's Transition Into Full-Time Schooling: Black/White Comparisons

The transition from "home child" to "school child" is an important social milestone and encompasses a life period that has not received as much attention as it may deserve. Poor black children, who are those with the most social interaction disabilities, seem particularly vulnerable in the early part of this transition. A further complication is that "summer learning" helps mainly well-off children, and blacks in the population-at-large are less likely to be well off than whites. Although schools do seem to be making up for the dearth of academic socialization resources in many young children's households, and in this sense are most beneficial for those who need them most, more work is needed on why schools are not filling the bill as well for the neediest blacks as they are for the neediest whites.
Examining Key Issues Underlying the Audit Commission Reports on SEN Policy Paper 1 (5th Series).

This book is the first publication in the fifth series of seminars organised by the SEN Policy Options Steering Group to examine policy issues to do with special educational needs. The aim of the seminar was to examine in depth several underlying issues raised by the recent Audit Commission Reports on special educational needs. The seminar provided a distinctive perspective and analysis of these reports. The focus was on (1) assurance for parents: alternatives to statements? (2) justifying common national definitions of difficulties and SEN and (3) managing inclusion. Papers were presented by: Peter Gray, SEN Policy Consultant, on common national definitions of difficulties and SEN; Penny Richardson from Nottinghamshire Local Education Authority (LEA) on assurance for parents: alternatives to statements? and Chris Beek from Capita Strategic Education Services on managing inclusion. The main purpose of this publication is to provide policy makers at all levels of the education system with an examination of relevant and practical policy options in the field of special educational needs. The book raises crucial issues and outlines ways forward.
Acetylation of Microtubules Influences Their Sensitivity to Severing by Katanin in Neurons and Fibroblasts

Here we investigated whether the sensitivity of microtubules to severing by katanin is regulated by acetylation of the microtubules. During interphase, fibroblasts display long microtubules with discrete regions rich in acetylated tubulin. Overexpression of katanin for short periods of time produced breaks preferentially in these regions. In fibroblasts with experimentally enhanced or diminished microtubule acetylation, the sensitivity of the microtubules to severing by katanin was increased or decreased, respectively. In neurons, microtubules are notably more acetylated in axons than in dendrites. Experimental manipulation of microtubule acetylation in neurons yielded similar results on dendrites as observed on fibroblasts. However, under these experimental conditions, axonal microtubules were not appreciably altered with regard to their sensitivity to katanin. We hypothesized that this may be attributable to the effects of tau on the axonal microtubules, and this was validated by studies in which overexpression of tau caused microtubules in dendrites and fibroblasts to be more resistant to severing by katanin in a manner that was not dependent on the acetylation state of the microtubules. Interestingly, none of these various findings apply to spastin, because the severing of microtubules by spastin does not appear to be strongly influenced by either the acetylation state of the microtubules or tau. We conclude that sensitivity to microtubule severing by katanin is regulated by a balance of factors, including the acetylation state of the microtubules and the binding of tau to the microtubules. In the neuron, this contributes to regional differences in the microtubule arrays of axons and dendrites.
Social Class Divisions in the Consulting Room: A Theory of Psychosocial Class and Depression

Social class, is one of the most confusing, complex and critical dynamics in modem life for individuals and groups. Overshadowed by ethnic and gender studies for the past twenty or thirty years, the subject deserves our renewed attention, especially as groups and societies struggle with rapidly changing economies and shifting resources. The topic, however, evokes various avoidant reactions such as `It has been thoroughly researched previously' or `Of course we understand how social class dynamics affect our patients', largely because we clinicians as a group (middle or upper-middle class, university-educated and equally dedicated to individual psychodynamics) are embedded within our own social class views, values, expectations and assumptions. This article redefines and renames social class for psychotherapy as psycho-social class; reviews the `social ranking' theory of depression for individuals; and proposes a new extension of social ranking theory to group behaviours in order to suggest new group therapy interventions that address social ranking dynamics of depression.
ARQ with Doped Fountain Decoding

We analyze the benefits of an automatic repeat- request (ARQ) scheme employed in doped belief-propagation decoding for increasing the throughput of fountain encoded data transmissions. The proposed doping mechanism selects doping symbols randomly from the set of input symbols contributing to degree-two output symbols. Here an output symbol is the encoded symbol whose code-graph links to input symbols decoded thus far have been severed. This doping approach always ensures releasing of at least one output symbol, thus increasing the number of degree-one output symbols (the ripple). Using a random walk analysis, we study the belief propagation decoding with degree-two random doping for a fountain code with symbols drawn from an Ideal Soliton distribution. We show that the decoding process is a renewal process whereas the process starts all over afresh after each doping. The approximate interdoping process analysis revolves around a random walk model for the ripple size. We model the sequence of the ripple size increments (due to doping and/or decoding) as an iid sequence of shifted and truncated Poisson random variables. This model furnishes a prediction on the number of required doping symbols and, furthermore, the ARQ throughput cost analysis. We also find that the Ideal Soliton significantly outperforms the Robust Soliton distribution in our ARQ-doping scheme.
O ct 2 00 5 3 D Gasdynamic Modelling of the Changes in the Flow Structure During Transition From Quiescent to Active State in Symbiotic Stars

The results of 3D modelling of the flow structure in the classical symbiotic system Z Andromedae are presented. Outbursts in systems of this type occur when the accretion rate exceeds the upper limit of the steady burning range. Therefore, in order to realize the transition from a quiescent to an active state it is necessary to find a mechanism able to sufficiently increase the accretion rate on a time scale typical to the duration of outburst development. Our calculations have confirmed the transition mechanism from quiescence to outburst in classic symbiotic systems suggested earlier on the basis of 2D calculations (Bisikalo et al, 2002). The analysis of our results have shown that for wind velocity of 20 km/s an accretion disc forms in the system. The accretion rate for the solution with
Defect Formation with Bulk Fields

It has recently been realized that brane-antibrane annihilation (a possible explanation for ending inflation) may result in defect formation, due to the dynamics of the tachyon field. Studies of this possibility have generally ignored the interaction of the brane fields with fields in the bulk; recently it has been argued [G. Dvali and A. Vilenkin, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 03 (2004) 010. ] that interactions with bulk fields suppress or even eliminate defect formation. To investigate the impact of bulk fields on brane defect formation, we construct a toy model that captures the essential features of the tachyon condensation with bulk fields. We study the structure of defects in this toy model, and simulate their formation and evolution on the lattice. We find that, while the energetics and interactions of defects are influenced by the size of the extra dimension and the bulk-brane coupling, the bulk-brane coupling does not prevent the formation of a defect network.
Learning to Detect Visual Grasp Affordance

Appearance-based estimation of grasp affordances is desirable when 3-D scans become unreliable due to clutter or material properties. We develop a general framework for estimating grasp affordances from 2-D sources, including local texture-like measures as well as object-category measures that capture previously learned grasp strategies. Local approaches to estimating grasp positions have been shown to be effective in real-world scenarios, but are unable to impart object-level biases and can be prone to false positives. We describe how global cues can be used to compute continuous pose estimates and corresponding grasp point locations, using a max-margin optimization for category-level continuous pose regression. We provide a novel dataset to evaluate visual grasp affordance estimation; on this dataset we show that a fused method outperforms either local or global methods alone, and that continuous pose estimation improves over discrete output models. Finally, we demonstrate our autonomous object detection and grasping system on the Willow Garage PR2 robot.
Pareto on the Inevitability of Revolutions

While the notion of equilibrium is a fundamental theme in Pareto’s theory, an equally central idea is his implicit acceptance of the inevitability of revolutions. Pareto’s social order is at all times a precarious one. It may always be perturbed, disturbed, endangered, upset, and ultimately overthrown. Imbedded in his scheme is the notion of change, not always violent but constantly linked to the use of force, deception, and cunning. His theory of the circulation of the elites is based on this postulate of change. If the elite circulation were working continually and perfectly, there would be movement in society but no upheaval. But, since this circulation frequently is not smooth, for reasons to be explained later, successive revolutions in effect become inevitable and occur at varied intervals throughout the history of mankind. It is this emphasis on elite changes that renders Pareto especially relevant to an analysis of modem revolutionary situations. Furthermore, Pareto is concerned not only with the revolutionary process itself and its causes, but also with the results arising after the overthrow of the existing government and the seizure of power by a new one. This emphasis is related to his skeptical denial of the linearity of human progress: he rejects scornfully and categorically the contention that a revolution presents in the long run a better alternative, a contention forcefully affirmed by any revolutionary vanguard. Pareto is
Influence of cytokines (IL‐1α, IL‐3, IL‐11, GM‐CSF) on megakaryocyte‐fibroblast interactions in normal human bone marrow

Abstract: The evolution of myelofibrosis accompanying chronic myeloproliferative disorders (CMPDs) is often linked with megakaryopoiesis. However, it is not known whether or to what extent megakaryocytes of normal human bone marrow are capable of stimulating fibroblast growth. For this reason, an in vitro study was performed to elucidate possible cytokine‐dependent interactions between megakaryocytes and fibroblasts derived from healthy volunteers. Fibroblast growth was significantly promoted by the presence of megakaryocytes and modulated by additional application of various cytokines. While recombinant human (rh) interleukin (IL)‐1α had no obvious effect on fibroblast proliferation, a slight increase was detected on adding granulocyte‐macrophage colony stimulating factor (rhGM‐CSF). Application of rhIL‐3 caused a significant increase in the number of fibroblasts. In contrast, administration of rhIL‐11 suppressed the megakaryocyte‐dependent growth‐promoting effect and co‐stimulation with rhIL‐3 led to a significant decrease of fibroblast number in comparison to rhIL‐3‐stimulated co‐cultures. Inhibition of cell‐cell contact in unstimulated, as well as in rhIL‐3‐stimulated co‐cultures led to a conspicuous impairment of fibroblast growth. A similar effect was observed when neutralizing antibodies directed against platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) and transforming growth factor (TGF)β1 were added to rhIL‐3‐stimulated cultures. Our findings are in keeping with the assumption that interactions between megakaryocytes and fibroblasts involve in cytokine‐mediated functional network regulated by factors such as spatial relationship, cytokine stimulation, and low concentrations of mediators, particularly PDGF and TGFβ. In this complex system rhIL‐3 seems to play a crucial role in the promotion of these various interrelationships.
Average Ultraviolet Quasar Spectra in the Context of Eigenvector 1: A Baldwin Effect Governed by the Eddington Ratio?

We present composite UV spectra for low-redshift type 1 active galactic nuclei binned to exploit the information content of the eigenvector 1 (E1) parameter space. Composite spectra show high enough S/N and spectral resolution to permit a decomposition of the C IV λ1549 line profile: one of the strongest high-ionization lines (HILs), and fundamental in defining E1 space. The simplest C IV λ1549 decomposition into narrow-line region (NLR), broad-line region (BLR), and very broad line region (VBLR) components suggests that different components have an analog in Hβ with two major exceptions. VBLR emission is seen only in population B [FWHM(HβBC) > 4000 km s-1] sources. A blueshifted/asymmetric BLR component is seen only in population A [FWHM(HβBC) ≤ 4000 km s-1] HILs such as C IV λ1549. The blueshifted component is thought to arise in a high-ionization wind or outflow. Our analysis suggests that such a wind can only be produced in population A (almost all radio-quiet, RQ) sources, where the accretion rate is relatively high. We propose a model to account for several differences between low- and high-ionization line profiles. Part of the broad-line emission is attributed to a self-gravitating/fragmented region in an accretion disk. An inner, optically thick, geometrically thin region of the flow may give rise to a wind/outflow and produce the blueshifted HIL spectrum in population A sources. The fragmented region may produce all or most of the broad-line emission in population B, which contains RQ and the majority of radio-loud (RL) quasars. Comparison between broad UV lines in RL and RQ sources in a single, well-populated E1 parameter space bin (B1) shows few significant differences. Clear evidence is found for a significant NLR C IV component in most RL sources. The BLR/VBLR similarity in bin B1 provides circumstantial evidence in favor of black hole (BH) spin, rather than BH mass or accretion rate, as a key trigger in determining whether an object will be RL or RQ. We find a 10-fold decrease in EW C IV λ1549 with Eddington ratio (decreasing from ≈1 to ~0.01), while N V λ1240 shows no change. These trends suggest a luminosity-independent "Baldwin effect" in which the physical driver may be the Eddington ratio.
Molecular Basis of the Differences in Binding Properties of the Highly Related C-type Lectins DC-SIGN and L-SIGN to Lewis X Trisaccharide and Schistosoma mansoni Egg Antigens*

The dendritic cell-specific C-type lectin DC-SIGN functions as a pathogen receptor that recognizes Schistosoma mansoni egg antigens through its major glycan epitope Galβ1,4(Fucα1,3)GlcNAc (Lex). Here we report that L-SIGN, a highly related homologue of DC-SIGN found on liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, binds to S. mansoni egg antigens but not to the Lex epitope. L-SIGN does bind the Lewis antigens Lea, Leb, and Ley, similar as DC-SIGN. A specific mutation in the carbohydrate recognition domain of DC-SIGN (V351G) abrogates binding to all Lewis antigens. In L-SIGN Ser363 is present at the corresponding position of Val351 in DC-SIGN. Replacement of this Ser into Val resulted in a “gain of function” L-SIGN mutant that binds to Lex, and shows increased binding to the other Lewis antigens. These data indicate that Val351 is important for the fucose specificity of DC-SIGN. Molecular modeling and docking of the different Lewis antigens in the carbohydrate recognition domains of L-SIGN, DC-SIGN, and their mutant forms, demonstrate that Val351 in DC-SIGN creates a hydrophobic pocket that strongly interacts with the Fucα1,3/4-GlcNAc moiety of the Lewis antigens. The equivalent amino acid residue Ser363 in L-SIGN creates a hydrophilic pocket that prevents interaction with Fucα1,3-GlcNAc in Lex but supports interactions with the Fucα1,4-GlcNAc moiety in Lea and Leb antigens. These data demonstrate for the first time that DC-SIGN and L-SIGN differ in their carbohydrate binding profiles and will contribute to our understanding of the functional roles of these C-type lectin receptors, both in recognition of pathogen and self-glycan antigens.
Embodied Conversational Interfaces for the Elderly User

This paper describes the design and development of an embodied conversational agent (ECA) that provides a social interface for older adults. Following a user-centred design approach, we implemented a multimodal agent consisting of a virtual character and a robot. This so-called "bi-bodied conversational agent for elderly" was iteratively refined and developed through participatory design and rapid prototyping in 3 consecutive focus groups with a total of 21 elderly users. In addition to the two bodies, a Wizard-of-Oz control panel was developed, enabling researchers to control both bodies so as to respond to the user's instructions, questions, and remarks. The research resulted in a platform that can be used for future research on elderly-robot and elderly-avatar interaction. In addition, the research resulted in insights about elderly users' preferences regarding the appearance and design of a virtual and a robotic ECA (Embodied Conversational Agent), described in results that can be reused in future experiments involving ECA for elderly users.
Geometrical Spreading of P-waves In Azimuthally Anisotropic Media

Geometrical spreading is highly sensitive to elastic anisotropy and may strongly influence the AVO signature of reflected waves recorded over anisotropic formations. For purposes of processing and inversion of reflection data, it is convenient to express geometrical spreading through the reflection traveltime measured at the earth’s surface. Here, we obtain the inverse geometricalspreading factor L−1 for horizontally layered anisotropic media with a horizontal symmetry plane as a simple function of the traveltime derivatives with respect to offset and azimuth. By employing the Tsvankin-Thomsen nonhyperbolic moveout equation, the factor L−1 is represented through the moveout coefficients which can be estimated from surface seismic data.