Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Face-to-Face versus Computer-Mediated Communication on Interpersonal Outcomes in Getting-Acquainted Situations

People use technology more today than ever before to self-disclose and form new relationships with others. Successful relationship development is often marked by the presence of positive interpersonal outcomes (i.e., closeness and liking). However, there is contention regarding whether computer-mediated communication (CMC) is as effective at developing positive interpersonal outcomes compared to face-to-face (FtF) communication. CMC is often considered subpar due to the lack of nonverbal cues that can be expressed. Two studies were designed to 1) compare the effect of FtF and CMC platform self-disclosures on closeness and liking in zero-acquaintance situations and 2) explore mediators that might explain why FtF and CMC produce closeness and liking. Both studies compared FtF, instant-messaging with a photo, and text-messaging. These conditions represent a continuum of nonverbal cues able to be expressed, with FtF allowing the most and text-messaging allowing the least. Participants in Study 1 self-disclosed via a getting-acquainted exercise, whereas participants in Study 2 had two free-form conversations. Self-disclosures in the FtF condition produced the greatest closeness compared to the CMC conditions. However, after the second conversation in Study 2, there were no differences in interpersonal outcomes across platform type. Potential mediators (i.e., responsive, similarity, ease of processing, and enjoyment of the interaction) were also examined to explain why increases in self-disclosure lead to closeness and liking. Limitations are discussed. Table of
AllCall: An automated call for paper information extractor

The main objective of this paper is to describe a project named AllCall, created to help researchers organize their publication schedule. The technology herein presented intends to be able to automatically extract conference's relevant information – conference name, important dates, location, conference sites and topics – from emails and conveniently present it on a web interface. Differently from other tools, to the best of our knowledge no other application is able to do this sort of information extraction automatically. This paper reports on the first approach of the project and presents the results so far.
Identifying Cell Class Specific Losses from Serially Generated Electroretinogram Components

Purpose. Processing of information through the cellular layers of the retina occurs in a serial manner. In the electroretinogram (ERG), this complicates interpretation of inner retinal changes as dysfunction may arise from “upstream” neurons or may indicate a direct loss to that neural generator. We propose an approach that addresses this issue by defining ERG gain relationships. Methods. Regression analyses between two serial ERG parameters in a control cohort of rats are used to define gain relationships. These gains are then applied to two models of retinal disease. Results. The PIIIamp to PIIamp gain is unity whereas the PIIamp to pSTRamp and PIIamp to nSTRamp gains are greater than unity, indicating “amplification” (P < 0.05). Timing relationships show amplification between PIIIit to PIIit and compression for PIIit to pSTRit and PIIit to nSTRit, (P < 0.05). Application of these gains to ω-3-deficiency indicates that all timing changes are downstream of photoreceptor changes, but a direct pSTR amplitude loss occurs (P < 0.05). Application to diabetes indicates widespread inner retinal dysfunction which cannot be attributed to outer retinal changes (P < 0.05). Conclusions. This simple approach aids in the interpretation of inner retinal ERG changes by taking into account gain characteristics found between successive ERG components of normal animals.
La simulation pour l'aide au pilotage des systèmes contrôlés par le produit

Dans un systeme de production pilote par le produit, le produit devient un acteur intelligent participant a des decisions locales. Pourtant, ce systeme de production a des objectifs de plus en plus globaux. Nous montrons dans cet article comment la simulation peut etre une aide importante pour cette prise de decision locale, en permettant a la fois une VISION globale de l'etat du systeme et une PREVISION prenant en compte le comportement emergeant de l'activite de l'ensemble des centres locaux de prise de decision. Nous presentons un exemple de systeme ou la simulation sert a la fois d'observateur et d'outil d'aide a la decision.
Comment on "Failure of standard conservation laws at a classical change of signature"

Hellaby & Dray (gr-qc/9404001) have recently claimed that matter conservation fails under a change of signature, compounding earlier claims that the standard junction conditions for signature change are unnecessary. In fact, if the field equations are satisfied, then the junction conditions and the conservation equations are satisfied. The failure is rather that the authors did not make sense of the field equations and conservation equations, which are singular at a change of signature.
Functional programming for all! scaling a MOOC for students and professionals alike

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have launched a scale shift in higher education, with several individual MOOCs now boasting tens or hundreds of thousands of participants worldwide. Our MOOC on the principles of functional programming has more than 100,000 registered students to date, and boasts one of the highest rates of completion (19.2%) for its size. In this paper, we describe our experience organizing this popular MOOC, and demonstrate how providing innovative supporting tools (IDE plugins, testing frameworks, interactive build tools, automated cloud-based graders, style checkers) and considering key human-computer interaction factors potentially contributed to this markedly high completion rate. We collect an unprecedented volume of course statistics and survey results and have made them available, along with scripts for generating interactive web-based visualizations, as an open-source project.
Modeling Human Emotions as Reactions to a Dynamical Virtual 3D Face

This paper introduces a comparison of one linear and two nonlinear one-step-ahead predictive models that were used to describe the relationship between human emotional signals (excitement, frustration, and engagement/boredom) and virtual dynamic stimulus (virtual 3D face with changing distance-between-eyes). An inputoutput model building method is proposed that allows building a stable model with the smallest output prediction error. Validation was performed using the recorded signals of four volunteers. Validation results of the models showed that all three models predict emotional signals in relatively high prediction accuracy.
An Approximate Inference Approach for the PCA Reconstruction Error

The problem of computing a resample estimate for the reconstruction error in PCA is reformulated as an inference problem with the help of the replica method. Using the expectation consistent (EC) approximation, the intractable inference problem can be solved efficiently using only two variational parameters. A perturbative correction to the result is computed and an alternative simplified derivation is also presented.
Change of controller based on partial feedback linearization with time-varying function

This paper considers the problem to transfer the state from one zero dynamics submanifold to another one in finite time, for a time-invariant nonlinear system. The usage of time-varying zero dynamics submanifold is proposed to accomplish the transfer. The feature of this paper is facus on keeping the state on zero dynamics submanifold during the transfer. Main contribution is to develop the condition for doing this for the case that the two zero dynamcis submanifolds have the same dimension. The validity of the controller that is designed to satisfy the condition is demonstrated via a numerical simulation of mono-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system.
Sparse Geodesic Paths

In this paper we propose a new distance metric for signals that admit a sparse representation in a known basis or dictionary. The metric is derived as the length of the sparse geodesic path between two points, by which we mean the shortest path between the points that is itself sparse. We show that the distance can be computed via a simple formula and that the entire geodesic path can be easily generated. The distance provides a natural similarity measure that can be exploited as a perceptually meaningful distance metric for natural images. Furthermore, the distance has applications in supervised, semi-supervised, and unsupervised learning settings.
Adaptive Output-Feedback Neural Control of Switched Uncertain Nonlinear Systems With Average Dwell Time

This paper investigates the problem of adaptive neural tracking control via output-feedback for a class of switched uncertain nonlinear systems without the measurements of the system states. The unknown control signals are approximated directly by neural networks. A novel adaptive neural control technique for the problem studied is set up by exploiting the average dwell time method and backstepping. A switched filter and different update laws are designed to reduce the conservativeness caused by adoption of a common observer and a common update law for all subsystems. The proposed controllers of subsystems guarantee that all closed-loop signals remain bounded under a class of switching signals with average dwell time, while the output tracking error converges to a small neighborhood of the origin. As an application of the proposed design method, adaptive output feedback neural tracking controllers for a mass-spring-damper system are constructed.
Clinicoeconomics and Outcomes Research Dovepress Clinical Outcomes and Health Care Costs Combining Metformin with Sitagliptin or Sulphonylureas or Thiazolidinediones in Uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes Patients

Objectives: To compare clinical outcomes and health care costs across three cohorts of uncontrolled diabetic patients who initiated treatment with one of the following: sulphonylureas (SU), thiazolidinediones (TZD) or sitagliptin (SITA). Materials and methods: We performed a retrospective study based on a linkage between administrative and laboratory databases maintained by three Italian local health units. The index period ranged from July 2008–June 2010. Patients were treatment-naïve to either SU, TZD, or SITA, but they were already treated with other oral hypoglycemic agents. Demographics and clinical characteristics were assessed at baseline. Adherence was measured by the medication possession ratio and adherent was defined as a patient with a medication possession ratio of 80% or greater. We used a Poisson regression model to estimate the risk ratios for disease-related hospitalizations that occurred during the 18-month follow-up period. The total annual costs included all the pharmacological treatments and the direct costs due to hospitalizations and outpatient services. Results: We identified 928 patients treated with SU, 330 patients treated with TZD, and 83 patients treated with SITA. SITA patients were significantly younger and with fewer previous hospital discharges. The baseline mean glycated hemoglobin level was 8.1% for SU, 8.0% for TZD, and 8.3% for SITA patients. SITA-naïve patients were more adherent than the SU-and TZD-naïve patients (79.5% versus 53.2% and 62.8%, respectively; P,0.001). The SU and TZD group showed a significant increased risk of disease-related hospitalizations compared with the SITA group (the unadjusted rate was 10.42 and 7.16 per 100 person-years versus 1.64 per 100 person-years, P=0.003; compared with SU, the adjusted incidence rate ratio for SITA was 0.21, P=0.030). The total annual costs per patient were €972 for SITA, €706 for SU, and €908 for those treated with TZD. Conclusion: Uncontrolled diabetic patients who initiated – as a second-line therapy in addition to metformin – treatment with SITA, compared to those who initiated treatment with SU or TZD, showed a reduced risk of disease-related hospitalizations. The total annual costs per patient were not significantly different among the three groups.
In situ Management and Domestication of Plants in Mesoamerica

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Ethnobotanical studies in Mexico have documented that Mesoamerican peoples practise systems of in situ management of wild and weedy vegetation directed to control availability of useful plants. In situ management includes let standing, encouraging growing and protection of individual plants of useful species during clearance of vegetation, which in some cases may involve artificial selection. The aim of this study was to review, complement and re-analyse information from three case studies which examined patterns of morphological, physiological and genetic effects of artificial selection in plant populations under in situ management in the region. METHODS Information on wild and in situ managed populations of the herbaceous weedy plants Anoda cristata and Crotalaria pumila, the tree Leucaena esculenta subsp. esculenta and the columnar cacti Escontria chiotilla, Polaskia chichipe and Stenocereus stellatus from Central Mexico was re-analysed. Analyses compared morphology and frequency of morphological variants, germination patterns, and population genetics parameters between wild and managed in situ populations of the species studied. Species of columnar cacti are under different management intensities and their populations, including cultivated stands of P. chichipe and S. stellatus, were also compared between species. KEY RESULTS Significant differences in morphology, germination patterns and genetic variation documented between wild, in situ managed and cultivated populations of the species studied are associated with higher frequencies of phenotypes favoured by humans in managed populations. Genetic diversity in managed populations of E. chiotilla and P. chichipe is slightly lower than in wild populations but in managed populations of S. stellatus variation was higher than in the wild. However, genetic distance between populations was generally small and influenced more by geographic distance than by management. CONCLUSIONS Artificial selection operating on in situ managed populations of the species analysed is causing incipient domestication. This process could be acting on any of the 600-700 plant species documented to be under in situ management in Mesoamerica. In situ domestication of plants could be relevant to understand early processes of domestication and current conditions of in situ conservation of plant genetic resources.
Formación automática de grupos colaborativos considerando estilos de aprendizaje y rendimiento académico

El Aprendizaje Colaborativo (AC) se vincula con métodos de enseñanza y de aprendizaje donde los estudiantes trabajan en pequeños grupos para resolver una consigna común. El avance tecnológico que se ha producido en las últimas décadas permitió al AC adoptar herramientas computacionales que facilitan la colaboración, la coordinación y la comunicación transformándolo en Aprendizaje Colaborativo Soportado por Computadora (ACSC). Crear grupos e instar a sus miembros a resolver una consigna de manera colaborativa, no garantiza en forma alguna que el comportamiento y el rendimiento de esos grupos sean adecuados, ni que la experiencia de enseñanza y de aprendizaje sea exitosa. Una de las variables que influyen en los resultados es la constitución de los grupos. Es por esto que nuestra línea de investigación se enfoca en la formación automática de grupos colaborativos on-line. En particular, se propone una herramienta software que crea grupos de estudiantes teniendo en cuenta sus estilos de aprendizaje, combinándolos de tal forma que se incrementen o maximicen sus rendimientos académicos. En este artículo se describen los objetivos de la investigación, el enfoque propuesto para concretar la formación automática de grupos colaborativos, y algunos antecedentes relevantes.
Epistasis between catechol-O-methyltransferase and type II metabotropic glutamate receptor 3 genes on working memory brain function

Dopaminergic and glutamatergic systems are critical components responsible for prefrontal signal-to-noise tuning in working memory. Recent functional MRI (fMRI) studies of genetic variation in these systems in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and in metabotropic glutamate receptor mgluR3 (GRM3), respectively, suggest that these genes influence prefrontal physiological signal-to-noise in humans. Here, using fMRI, we extend these individual gene findings to examine the combined effects of COMT and GRM3 on dissociable components of the frontoparietal working memory network. We observed an apparent epistatic interaction of these two genes on the engagement of prefrontal cortex during working memory. Specifically, the GRM3 genotype putatively associated with suboptimal glutamatergic signaling was significantly associated with inefficient prefrontal engagement and altered prefrontal-parietal coupling on the background of COMT Val-homozygous genotype. Conversely, COMT Met-homozygous background mediated against the effect of GRM3 genotype. These findings extend putative brain dopaminergic and glutamatergic relationships indexed by COMT and GRM3 to a systems-level interaction in human cortical circuits implicated in working memory dysfunction such as in schizophrenia.
A CROSS-LAYER PROTOCOL FOR RELIABLE AND EFFICIENT COMMUNICATION IN WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS

It is a practical challenge to provide reliable and efficient communication in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). However, traditional layered protocols are not jointly designed and optimized to maximize the overall network performance while minimizing the energy expenditure. In this paper, we introduce a novel node initiative concept that allows the intrinsic protocol layer functionalities required for successful communication in WSNs to be implemented in a unified protocol framework. Based on this concept, a crosslayer, reliable and efficient communication protocol (CREC) is proposed, which implements a cross-layer operation of medium access contention, robust geographical routing, and distributed congestion control with due consideration on channel effects, information fidelity and energy efficiency to realize reliable and efficient data transmission in WSNs. Extensive simulation results show that CREC, though very simple, achieves significant improvements in terms of network performance and energy efficiency over other stateof-the-art solutions.
Comparison of Wound-Field Switched-Flux Machines

This paper proposes a three-phase wound-field switched-flux (WFSF) machine. It is found that this machine has much higher average torque compared with the conventional 12-slot/8-pole machine with a segmented rotor and 12-slot/5-pole WFSF machine under the constraint of the same copper loss. All of those machines have been optimized to achieve the maximum torque for comparison. The performances of four machines, including back electromotive force, cogging torque, and static torque, are analyzed and compared by 2-D finite-element analysis and validated by experiments on the prototype machines.
Pitch enhancement motivated by rate-distortion theory

A pitch enhancement filter is designed with the objective to approach the optimal rate-distortion trade-off. The filter shows significant perceptual benefits, restating that information-theoretical and perceptual criteria are usually consistent. The filter is easy to implement and can be used as a complement to existing audio codecs. Our experiments show that it can improve the reconstruction quality of the AMR-WB standard.
Biomimetic Systems for Studying Actin-Based Motility Review

Actin polymerization provides a major driving force for eukaryotic cell motility. Successive intercalation of monomeric actin subunits between the plasma membrane and the filamentous actin network results in protrusions of the membrane enabling the cell to move or to change shape. One of the challenges in understanding eukaryotic cell motility is to dissect the elementary biochemical and biophysical steps that link actin polymerization to mechanical force generation. Recently, significant progress was made using biomimetic, in vitro systems that are inspired by the actin-based motility of bacterial pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes. Polystyrene microspheres and synthetic phospholipid vesicles coated with proteins that initiate actin polymerization display motile behavior similar to Listeria, mimicking the leading edge of lamellipodia and filopodia. A major advantage of these biomimetic systems is that both biochemical and physical parameters can be controlled precisely. These systems provide a test bed for validating theoretical models on force generation and polarity establishment resulting from actin polymerization. In this review, we discuss recent experimental progress using biomimetic systems propelled by actin polymerization and discuss these results in the light of recent theoretical models on actin-based motility.
LSD: Lyman-break galaxies Stellar populations and Dynamics – I. Mass, metallicity and gas at z∼ 3.1

We present the first results of a project, Lyman-break galaxies Stellar populations and Dynamics (LSD), aimed at obtaining spatially resolved, near-infrared (IR) spectroscopy of a complete sample of Lyman-break galaxies at z ∼ 3. Deep observations with adaptive optics resulted in the detection of the main optical lines, such as [O II] λ3727, Hβ and [O III] λ5007, which are used to study sizes, star formation rates (SFRs), morphologies, gas-phase metallicities, gas fractions and effective yields. Optical, near-IR and Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera photometry are used to measure stellar mass. We obtain that morphologies are usually complex, with the presence of several peaks of emissions and companions that are not detected in broad-band images. Typical metallicities are 10–50 per cent solar, with a strong evolution of the mass– metallicity relation from lower redshifts. Stellar masses, gas fraction and evolutionary stages vary significantly among the galaxies, with less massive galaxies showing larger fractions of gas. In contrast with observations in the local universe, effective yields decrease with stellar mass and reach solar values at the low-mass end of the sample. This effect can be reproduced by gas infall with rates of the order of the SFRs. Outflows are present but are not needed to explain the mass–metallicity relation. We conclude that a large fraction of these galaxies is actively creating stars after major episodes of gas infall or merging.
Making the Internet More Evolvable

Why is the Internet so hard to evolve? Some argue that we require a radically different architecture to enable evolution. To the contrary, we contend that a simple re-engineering of the basic Internet interfaces to make them more modular and extensible—as one would in any software system—is sufficient to produce a far more evolvable Internet. We describe our design, called Omega, and report on its implementation and evaluation on
Balancing control application using gyroscopic effect to a hand-carried one-wheel cart

This paper presents the balancing control application to a hand-carried one-wheel cart that is used for carrying objects by a human operator. Balancing and driving control of the cart is mainly controlled by human power. To help the human power for balancing in the lateral direction, gyro-effect is employed to generate the balancing torque in the lateral direction to maintain the balance. A one-wheel cart with a gimbal system called Gyrocart is implemented and controlled. The gimbal system is composed of a flywheel, flywheel housing, and motors to induce the gyro effect. Gyrocart is developed to be a future cart that can help human labors to carry objects in the narrow space. Experimental studies of the balancing test of Gyrocart are performed to confirm the feasibility of Gyrocart.