Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Examining the Validity of the Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment

Background and purpose. Executive function (EF) skills are necessary to set a strong foundation for play development, school readiness and social participation in young children. However, few ecologically valid assessments are available to detect potential executive function deficits in preschool aged children. The Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment (PKTA) is a new tool that measures EF in preschool aged children. The PKTA was adapted from the Kitchen Task Assessment and The Children Task Assessment by Christine Berg, Ph.D., OTR/L. This study aimed to validate the PKTA as an ecological assessment of EF in preschool aged children. Subjects. Twenty-four typically developing children ages three to five and their parents from three preschools in Marin County. Methods. An exploratory research design was utilized to examine the ecological validity of the PKTA. Scores from the PKTA were compared to three established neuropsychological assessments using Pearson’s r correlation. Results. Weak and non-significant correlations were found between the PKTA and the three established neuropsychological assessments: The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Preschool Version Parent Form (BRIEF-P), Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS), Forward Digit & Backward Digit Span (FDS & BDS). A strong negative significant relationship was found between the participant’s age in months and their total score on the PKTA. Discussion and conclusion. The findings do not support the validity of the PKTA as an assessment tool for EF in preschool aged children. The PKTA may be a useful ecologically valid assessment of developmental milestones in preschoolers. EXAMINING THE VALIDITY OF THE PKTA vi
Let's Make Gender Diversity in Data Science a Priority Right from the Start

The emergent field of data science is a critical driver for innovation in all sectors, a focus of tremendous workforce development, and an area of increasing importance within science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In all of its aspects, data science has the potential to narrow the gender gap and set a new bar for inclusion. To evolve data science in a way that promotes gender diversity, we must address two challenges: (1) how to increase the number of women acquiring skills and working in data science and (2) how to evolve organizations and professional cultures to better retain and advance women in data science. Everyone can contribute.
Trada: tree based ranking function adaptation

Machine Learned Ranking approaches have shown successes in web search engines. With the increasing demands on developing effective ranking functions for different search domains, we have seen a big bottleneck, i.e., the problem of insufficient training data, which has significantly limited the fast development and deployment of machine learned ranking functions for different web search domains. In this paper, we propose a new approach called tree based ranking function adaptation ("tree adaptation") to address this problem. Tree adaptation assumes that ranking functions are trained with regression-tree based modeling methods, such as Gradient Boosting Trees. It takes such a ranking function from one domain and tunes its tree-based structure with a small amount of training data from the target domain. The unique features include (1) it can automatically identify the part of model that needs adjustment for the new domain, (2) it can appropriately weight training examples considering both local and global distributions. Experiments are performed to show that tree adaptation can provide better-quality ranking functions for a new domain, compared to other modeling methods.
Differentiation of Two Bovine Lentiviruses by a Monoclonal Antibody on the Basis of Epitope Specificity

ABSTRACT Bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) and Jembrana disease virus (JDV) are bovine lentiviruses that are closely related genetically. A recombinant fusion protein containing the capsid protein of BIV expressed in Escherichia coli was used to immunize mice and produce monoclonal antibodies. Six hybridomas specific for BIV capsid protein were identified, and one antibody, designated 10H1, was characterized further. Competitive binding assays were performed to analyze the topography of antigenic determinants by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and demonstrated the existence of at least three distinct antigenic determinants on capsid protein. The monoclonal antibody reacted specifically with both BIV capsid and the recombinant fusion protein in Western immunoblot analyses. However, it did not react with the recombinant capsid fusion protein of JDV, indicating that BIV contains at least one unique epitope in the capsid protein that is absent in JDV. Further mapping of the epitope by chemical cleavage analysis identified that the epitope is located at the 6.4-kDa N terminus of the 29-kDa capsid protein. This monoclonal antibody assay will be valuable for distinguishing the two closely related lentiviruses by Western blotting.
Study of the Effect of Awareness on Synchronous Collaborative Problem-Solving

In this article we present a qualitative study of phenomena of attention shifting and awareness that occur during a synchronous collaborative activity. The objective of this research is to analyze the interplay between task, attention mechanisms and the dynamics of collaboration. This study presents the detailed examination of attention shifting of a user engaged in a collaborative activity. It also discusses possible reasons for unattended events and awareness failures. The findings of this analysis can provide useful information for the design of groupware awareness mechanisms as well as for the evaluation of groupware applications.
GRB Radiative Efficiencies Derived from the Swift Data: GRBs versus XRFs, Long versus Short

We systematically analyze the prompt emission and the early afterglow data of a sample of 31 GRBs detected by Swift before 2005 September and estimate the GRB radiative efficiency. BAT's narrow band inhibits a precise determination of the GRB spectral parameters, and we have developed a method to estimate these parameters with the hardness ratio information. The shallow decay component commonly existing in early X-ray afterglows, if interpreted as continuous energy injection in the external shock, suggests that the GRB efficiencies previously derived from the late-time X-ray data were not reliable. We calculate two radiative efficiencies using the afterglow kinetic energy EK derived at the putative deceleration time (tdec) and at the break time (tb), when the energy injection phase ends, respectively. At tb XRFs appear to be less efficient than normal GRBs. However, when we analyze the data at tdec, XRFs are found to be as efficient as GRBs. Short GRBs have similar radiative efficiencies to long GRBs despite of their different progenitors. Twenty-two bursts in the sample are identified to have the afterglow cooling frequency below the X-ray band. Assuming ϵe = 0.1, we find ηγ(tb) usually <10% and ηγ(tdec) varying from a few percent to >90%. Nine GRBs in the sample have the afterglow cooling frequency above the X-ray band for a very long time. This suggests a very small ϵB and/or a very low ambient density n.
Statistical Testing for Disk Encryption Modes of Operations

In this paper we present a group of statistical tests that explore the random behavior of encryption modes of operations, when used in disk encryption applications. The results of these tests help us to better understand how these modes work. We tested ten modes of operations with the presented statistical tests, five of the narrow-block type and the other five of the wide-block type. Our analysis shows some weakness in some of these modes.
Reconstruction of three dimensional models from real images

An image based model reconstruction system is described. Real images of a rigid object acquired under a simple but controlled environment are used to recover the three dimensional geometry and the surface appearance. Based on a multi-image calibration method, an algorithm to extract the rotation axis of a turn-table has been developed. Furthermore, this can be extended to estimate robustly the initial bounding volume of the object to be modeled The coarse volume obtained, is then carved using a stereo correction method which removes the disadvantages of silhouette based reconstruction by photoconsistency. The concept of surface particles is adapted in order to extract a texture map for the model. Some metrics are defined to measure the quality of the reconstructed models.
Tracking deformable objects with WISARD networks

In this paper, we investigate a new approach based on WISARD Neural Network for the tracking of non-rigid deformable object. The proposed approach allows deploying an on–line training on the texture and shape features of the object, to adapt in real–time to changes, and to partially cope with occlusions. Moreover, the use of parallel classificators trained on the same set of images allows tracking the movements of the objects. We evaluate our tracking abilities in the scenario of pizza making that represents a very challenging benchmark to test the approach since in this context the shape of the object to track completely changes during the manipulation.
New Sufficient Conditions for s-Hamiltonian Graphs and s-Hamiltonian Connected Graphs

A graph G is s-Hamiltonian if for any S ⊆ V (G) of order at most s, G−S has a Hamiltonian-cycle, and s-Hamiltonian connected if for any S ⊆ V (G) of order at most s, G − S is Hamiltonian-connected. Let k > 0, s ≥ 0 be two integers. The following are proved in this paper: (1) Let k ≥ s+ 2 and s ≤ n− 3. If G is a k-connected graph of order n and if max{d(v) : v ∈ I} ≥ (n+s)/2 for every independent set I of order k−s such that I has two distinct vertices x, y with 1 ≤ |N(x)∩N(y)| ≤ α(G)+ s−1, then G is s-Hamiltonian. (2) Let k ≥ s + 3 and s ≤ n − 2. If G is a k-connected graph of order n and if max{d(v) : v ∈ I} ≥ (n + s + 1)/2 for every independent set I of order k − s− 1 such that I has two distinct vertices x, y with 1 ≤ |N(x) ∩N(y)| ≤ α(G) + s, then G is s-Hamiltonian connected. These extended several former results by Dirac, Ore, Fan and Chen.
THE ROLE OF MALE SECONDARY SEXUAL TRAITS IN HUMAN MATE CHOICE: ARE THEY PREFERRED BY FEMALES AND DO THEY SIGNAL MATE QUALITY?

ii CONTENTS v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii MANUSCRIPTS FOR PUBLICATION ix CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 1 1.1 PREFERENCES FOR SECONDARY SEXUAL CHARACTERISTICS MAY BE ADAPTATIONS FOR DETECTING HIGH QUALITY MATES. 2 1.2 MATE QUALITY MAY ALSO BE SIGNALLED BY SYMMETRY AND AVERAGENESS. 4 1.3 MEASURES OF MATE QUALITY. 4 1.4 THESIS APPROACH AND AIMS. 5 1.6 REFERENCES. 7 CHAPTER TWO: CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE FACE AND BODY TO OVERALL ATTRACTIVENESS. 10 2.1 ABSTRACT 11 2.2 INTRODUCTION 12 2.3 METHOD 14 2.3. 1 RATERS 14 2.3. 2 STIMULI 14 2.3. 3 PROCEDURE 14 2.4 RESULTS 14 2.5 DISCUSSION 16 2.6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 20
Tissue Vitamin A Insufficiency Results in Adverse Ventricular Remodeling after Experimental Myocardial Infarction

Background/Aims: The role of tissue vitamin-A insufficiency on post-infarction ventricular remodeling is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that cardiac vitamin A insufficiency on post-infarction is associated with adverse myocardial remodeling. Methods: After infarction, rats were allocated into two groups: C (controls, n=25); VA (dietary vitamin A restriction, n= 26). After 3 months, the animals were submitted to echocardiogram, morphometric and biochemical analysis. Results: Rats fed the vitamin-A-deficient diet had lower heart and liver retinol concentration and normal plasma retinol. There were no differences in infarct size between the groups. VA showed higher diastolic left ventricular area normalised by body weight (C= 1.81 ± 0.4 cm2/kg, VA= 2.15 ± 0.3 cm2/kg; p=0.03), left ventricular diameter (C= 9.4 ± 1.4 mm, VA= 10.5 ± 1.2 mm; p=0.04), but similar systolic ventricular fractional area change (C= 33.0 ± 10.0 %, VA= 32.1 ± 8.7 %; p=0.82). VA showed decreased isovolumetric relaxation time normalised by heart rate (C= 68.8 ± 11.4 ms, VA= 56.3 ± 16.8 ms; p=0.04). VA showed higher interstitial collagen fraction (C= 2.8 ± 0.9 %, VA= 3.7 ± 1.1 %; p=0.05). There were no differences in myosin heavy chain expression, metalloproteinase 2 and 9 activation, or IFN-γ and TNF-α cardiac levels. Conclusion: Local tissue vitamin A insufficiency intensified ventricular remodeling after MI, worsening diastolic dysfunction.
Walk-through Mixed Reality Displays

Why a display should be physical in the first place? Im-material mid-air displays are more suitable for many situations than impenetrable monitors or display walls. Interactive mid-air projection screens in various sizes are becoming feasible alternatives for displaying information and interacting with it. We have created a Ki-nect-based interactive and virtual reality system for the FogScreen. We also explore mobile projection onto it.
A Neural Networks Approach for Software Risk Analysis

Software project development has always been associated with high failure rate. In this paper, we identify the key software risk factors responsible in achieving successful outcome and use a neural network approach to establish a model for minimizing the risks attributed to failed projects. Input of the model is software risk factors that were obtained through interview, and output of the model describes the final outcome of the project. The data for analysis is from real software projects collected through questionnaires. In order to enhance model performance, principal component analysis and genetic algorithm are employed. The experimental result indicates that the software risk analysis can be improved through these methods and that the risk analysis model is effective
Assessment of an unobtrusive persuasive system for behavior change in home environments

Systems for behavior change often use additional amplifying factors, e.g. gamification, competition with friends and progress bars. Related work has looked into persuasive systems using these amplifying factors to motivate users to be more active or to drink more. We investigated an unobtrusive persuasive behavior change system without amplifying factors by displaying motivating pictures on a central display. We conducted an in-situ study with 6 participants over the course of three weeks. Participants placed a tablet computer in their homes. On the always-on display, motivating pictures of the categories sports, reading and drinking were shown for one week each. Participants found the system useful to drink more and preferred personalized pictures.
QoS Provisioning for Adaptive Video Streaming over P2P Networks. (Transport Adaptatif et Contrôle de la Qualité des Services Vidéo sur les Réseaux Pair-à-Pair)

There is an increasing demand for scalable deployment of real-time multimedia streaming applications over Internet. In this context, Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks are playing an important role for supporting robust and large-scale transmission of multimedia content to heterogeneous clients. However, the deployment of real-time video streaming applications over P2P networks arises lot of challenges due to heterogeneity of terminals and access networks, dynamicity of peers, and other problems inherited from IP network. Real-time streaming applications are very sensitive to packet loss, jitter / transmission delay, and available end-to-end bandwidth. These elements have key importance in QoS provisioning and need extra consideration for smooth delivery of video streaming applications over P2P networks. Beside the abovementioned issues, P2P applications lack of awareness in constructing their overlay topologies and do not have any explicit interaction with service and network providers. This situation leads to inefficient utilization of network resources and may cause potential violation of peering agreements between providers. The aim of this thesis is to analyze these issues and to propose an adaptive real-time transport mechanism for QoS provisioning of Scalable Video Coding (SVC) applications over P2P networks. Our contributions in this dissertation are threefold. First, we propose a hybrid overlay organization mechanism allowing intelligent organization of sender peers based on network-awareness, mediaawareness, and quality-awareness. This overlay organization is further used for an appropriate selection of best sender peers, and the efficient switching of peers to ensure a smooth video delivery when any of the sender peers is no more reliable. Second, we propose a packet video scheduling mechanism to assign different parts of the video content to specific peers. Third, we present a service provider driven P2P network framework that enables effective interaction between service / network providers and P2P applications to perform QoS provisioning mechanism for the video streaming.
SOCIAL-COGNITIVE MECHANISMS AND COUNTERPRODUCTIVE COMPUTER SECURITY BEHAVIORS (CCSB): AN ANALYSIS OF LINKS

Very little research has been carried out to determine the links between social-cognitive mechanisms and employees’ counterproductive computer security behaviors (CCSB). Accordingly, we aim to contribute to the literature in this area. A research model that drew from the social cognitive theory (SCT) was proposed and tested with data collected from professionals employed in Canadian organizations. Data analysis using the partial least squares (PLS) technique confirmed that outcome expectations (personal) and selfregulation were significant factors that impacted employees’ decisions to engage or not in CCSB. The other considered SCT factors (i.e., observational learning, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations (organizational) in our study yielded insignificant results. The study’s implications for practice and research are discussed.
Further support of the role of CYP1B1 in patients with Peters anomaly.

PURPOSE Peters anomaly is a developmental anomaly of the eye frequently associated with glaucoma. The aim of this study was to further define the molecular basis of this condition. METHODS The role of four candidate genes implicated in ocular development or glaucoma, PAX6, PITX2, MYOC, and CYP1B1, was studied in 15 patients with Peters anomaly. Mutational analysis used a combination of single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and direct cycle sequencing. RESULTS Four mutations in CYP1B1 were found in 3/15 (20%) affected individuals compared with 1/140 (0.7%) control individuals. CONCLUSIONS This study supports the role of CYP1B1 as a causative gene in Peters anomaly. Furthermore, this emphasizes the broad range of phenotypic expression for CYP1B1 mutations, and its role in eye development.
Time delay estimation in dense multipath with matched subspace filters

Efficient multipath time delay estimation is of great importance for positioning with Ultra-Wide-Band signals in indoor environments. In dense multipath environments a simple assumption is to model the multipath terms as attenuated and delayed copies of a known waveform. A more realistic model is however the scenario where the pulse shape is different for every multipath term due to scattering effects and the directionality of the antennas. For the purposes of positioning we face three problems. Signal detection, time delay estimation of the strongest path, and leading edge detection. Leading edge detection is necessary since the strongest path may not be the first. We apply Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Generalized Likelihood Ratio Tests to these problems. In the case of a known pulse shape this leads to the well known matched filter. In the case of unknown pulse shape we show that the matched subspace filter is the optimal solution. Another significant property of the matched subspace filter is that it does not require Nyquist rate sampling. Beyond these advantages, the matched subspace filter is not computationally demanding. Finally we discuss various leading edge detection methoods like generalized likelihood rule (GLR) and energy detectors.
Das Accounting sozialer Nachhaltigkeit

Das gesellschaftliche Leitbild der Nachhaltigkeit breitet sich zunehmend uber den Finanzmarkt aus. Dazu gehoren Versuche, das Accounting und Reporting von Nachhaltigkeit zu standardisieren. Dabei bleiben bisher zentrale Aspekte der Nachhaltigkeitsidee auf der Strecke.
A Multiwavelength Study of Stephan’s Quintet

Stephan's Quintet (SQ) is a compact group that we find in an atypical moment when a high-velocity intruder is passing through it. The intrusion is particularly interesting because a previous intruder had stripped most of the gas from the group members. This debris field was shocked in the ongoing collision with the new intruder. This evolutionary history agrees well with observations and explains how a strongly interacting system can show low levels of star formation. We present new multiwavelength data including previously unpublished ROSAT X-ray, Hα interference filter/Fabry-Pérot, ISO MIR/FIR, and radio line and continuum images. These observations and previously published data provide new insights, as well as support for some previous hypotheses. (1) Fabry-Pérot and H I velocities allow us to unambiguously distinguish between gas associated with SQ and the new intruder. (2) Most detected emission regions are found in the remnant interstellar medium (ISM) of the new intruder, which allows us to infer its size and present physical state. (3) The few emission regions associated with the stripped ISM of SQ include the best candidate tidal dwarf galaxy. (4) Multiwavelength data suggest that strong MIR/FIR emission from the Seyfert 2 nucleus of NGC 7319 comes from dust heated directly by a power-law continuum rather than a starburst. (5) The correspondence between extended X-ray/radio continuum/forbidden optical emission confirms the existence of a large scale shock in SQ. (6) We confirm the presence of two stripped spiral members in the process of transformation into E/S0 morphology. Finally (7) observations are consistent with the idea that the collision in SQ is ongoing with possible detection of H II region ablation and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities.
Schooling, Citizenship and the Myth of the Meritocracy

This article is eclectic in its reach and on occasions polemical in its discussion and assumptions; it is written as a study of economic, social and citizenship socialisation. The article's origins are fairly atypical; it does not situate its arguments in the analysis of empirical data, qualitative or quantitative. Based upon a critique of the concept of meritocracy contained in Michael Young's (1958) satirical novel, The Rise of the Meritocracy, 1870–2033: an essay on education and equality, it attempts to remind us of some core principles that ought to govern our view of the aims of education and schooling in their cultural and socio-economic guises and in the manner in which they can contribute to the project of civic renewal in pursuit of a society that is truly equitable, socially just, democratic and meritorious.
Different Executive Functions Support Different Kinds of Cognitive Flexibility: Evidence From 2‐, 3‐, and 4‐Year‐Olds

Improvements in cognitive flexibility during the preschool years have been linked to developments in both working memory and inhibitory control, though the precise contribution of each remains unclear. In the current study, one hundred and twenty 2‐, 3‐, and 4‐year‐olds completed two rule‐switching tasks. In one version, children switched rules in the presence of conflicting information, and in the other version, children switched rules in the presence of distracting information. Switching in the presence of conflict improved rapidly between the ages of 3 and 3.5 years, and was associated with better working memory. Conversely, switching in the presence of distraction developed significantly between the ages of 2 and 3 years, and was associated with better inhibitory control.