Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Functionally Guided Approach to the Morphometry of Occipitotemporal Regions in Developmental Dyslexia: Evidence for Differential Effects in Boys and Girls

Developmental dyslexia is a learning disability that specifically affects reading acquisition. Cortical anomalies and gray matter volume differences in various temporal regions have been reported in dyslexic subjects compared with controls. However, consistency between studies is lacking. In the present experiments, we focused our structural analyses on the ventral occipitotemporal regions, defined by their functional response to visual categories. We applied a subject-by-subject functionally guided approach on a total of 76 participants (31 dyslexic children). Cortical thickness was estimated for each participant around his/her peak of specific functional activation to visual words, faces, or places. Results from two independent datasets showed a reduction in thickness in dyslexic children compared with controls in the region responsive to words, in the left hemisphere. Additionally, a gender-by-diagnosis interaction was observed at the same location, due to differences in girls only. To avoid the potential confound of reading level, we also contrasted dyslexic and control children matched for reading performance, and we observed a similar difference, although in a smaller extent of cortex. The present study thus provides the first account of a focal cortical thickness reduction in dyslexia in the subregion of ventral occipitotemporal cortex specifically responsive to visual words, when age, gender, and reading performance are taken into account.
Reverse engineering of binary device drivers with RevNIC

This paper presents a technique that helps automate the reverse engineering of device drivers. It takes a closed-source binary driver, automatically reverse engineers the driver's logic, and synthesizes new device driver code that implements the exact same hardware protocol as the original driver. This code can be targeted at the same or a different OS. No vendor documentation or source code is required. Drivers are often proprietary and available for only one or two operating systems, thus restricting the range of device support on all other OSes. Restricted device support leads to low market viability of new OSes and hampers OS researchers in their efforts to make their ideas available to the 'real world. ' Reverse engineering can help automate the porting of drivers, as well as produce replacement drivers with fewer bugs and fewer security vulnerabilities. Our technique is embodied in RevNIC, a tool for reverse engineering network drivers. We use RevNIC to reverse engineer four proprietary Windows drivers and port them to four different OSes, both for PCs and embedded systems. The synthesized network drivers deliver performance nearly identical to that of the original drivers.
Identification and prediction of abnormal behaviour activities of daily living in intelligent environments

The aim of this research is to investigate efficient mining of useful information from a sensor network forming an Ambient Intelligence (AmI) environment. In this thesis, we investigate methods for supporting independent living of the elderly (and specifically patients who are suffering from dementia) by means of equipping their home with a simple sensor network to monitor their behaviour and identify their Activities of Daily Living (ADL). Dementia is considered to be one of the most important causes of disability in the elderly. Mostpatients would prefer to use non-intrusive technology to help them tomaintain their independence. Such monitoring and prediction would allow the caregiver to see any trend in the behaviour of the elderly person and to be informed of any abnormal behaviour.
Ensino e aprendizagem de leitura de palavras: contribuições da análise do comportamento.

The aim of this study was to investigate the applicability of a program for teaching the reading of words based on principles of behavior analysis and the training of kindergarten teachers to implement it in the classroom. A total of three teachers and their respective classes participated. The procedure consisted of: 1) Reading pre-test with the pupils and recording the behavior of the teachers, 2) Meetings with teachers to present and discuss the teaching program, 3) Implementation of the program of instruction by the teachers, 4) Post-test with the pupils and evaluation of the teaching program by the teachers. The program included teaching and/or tests that included: dictated word-word building, printed word-word building, dictated word-printed word, dictated word-picture, picture-printed word, printed word-picture, picture-word building, and printed word naming. In the pre-test, most pupils could not name most of the words. In the post-test, pupils in Classes A, B and C, named, respectively, 77.91%, 90.71% and 96.26% of the words taught, and 50%, 83.57% and 70% of the generalization words. It may be concluded that the educational program was appropriate for teaching reading comprehension in a collective situation and that the teachers were duly trained to use it.
Hierarchy through Composition with Linearly Solvable Markov Decision Processes

Hierarchical architectures are critical to the scalability of reinforcement learning methods. Current hierarchical frameworks execute actions serially, with macro-actions comprising sequences of primitive actions. We propose a novel alternative to these control hierarchies based on concurrent execution of many actions in parallel. Our scheme uses the concurrent compositionality provided by the linearly solvable Markov decision process (LMDP) framework, which naturally enables a learning agent to draw on several macro-actions simultaneously to solve new tasks. We introduce the Multitask LMDP module, which maintains a parallel distributed representation of tasks and may be stacked to form deep hierarchies abstracted in space and time.
Myelination of the Human Vagus Nerve from 24 Weeks Postconceptional Age to Adolescence

Significant changes in respiratory reflexes occur with maturation. The vagus nerve, the pathway for the Hering-Breuer and irritant-receptor reflexes, was studied quantitatively in 33 infants and 5 adolescents. In the infants, total myelinated vagus fibers increased linearly (r = +0.682, p < 0.001) with postconceptional age (PCA), and by 40 weeks after conception, total counts were comparable to those of adolescent group. Counts of total myelinated vagus fibers in 16 term infants (>41 weeks PCA) were comparable to those in the adolescent group (p < 0.40), whereas 17 preterm infants (<38 weeks PCA) showed significantly fewer total myelinated vagus fibers than term or adolescent groups (p < 0.061). Smaller-diameter (<2 μm) myelinated vagus fibers depended upon PCA in the preterm group (p < 0.005), but were independent of PCA in the term group (p < 0.5). Preterm infants have a higher percentage of small to total myelinated vagus fibers than term infants (p < 0.1).
Fast and Easy Reach-Cone Joint Limits

Abstract We describe a simple and fast method of creating and using joint sinus reach cones to limit the range of motion on universal and ball-and-socket joints. Reach cones can be created interactively or based on results from biomechanics. A reach cone is specified as a spherical polygon on the surface of a reach sphere that defines all positions the longitudinal segment axis beyond the joint can take. Reach polygons can be concave or convex, and cover more than one hemisphere. Longitudinal axis rotation limits can also be defined for locations in the reach cone. Calculations to determine whether a segment is within the reach cone are based on the relation of the segment longitudinal axis to the planes defining the reach cone and are done in the local coordinate space of the segment. The calculations have no discernible effect on the speed of interactive display or animation.
How does Fgf signaling from the isthmic organizer induce midbrain and cerebellum development?

The mesencephalic/rhombomere 1 border (isthmus) is an organizing center for early development of midbrain and cerebellum. In this review, we summarize recent progress in studies of Fgf signaling in the isthmus and discuss how the isthmus instructs the differentiation of the midbrain versus cerebellum. Fgf8 is shown to play a pivotal role in isthmic organizer activity. Only a strong Fgf signal mediated by Fgf8b activates the Ras‐extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, and this is sufficient to induce cerebellar development. A lower level of signaling transduced by Fgf8a, Fgf17 and Fgf18 induce midbrain development. Numerous feedback loops then maintain appropriate mesencephalon/rhombomere1 and organizer gene expression.
Strategic Technology Adoption and Hedging under Incomplete Markets

We investigate the implications of technological innovation and non-diversifiable risk on entrepreneurial entry and optimal portfolio choice. In a real options model where two risk-averse individuals strategically decide on technology adoption, we show that the impact of non-diversifiable risk on the option timing decision is ambiguous and depends on the frequency of technological change. Compared to the complete market case, non-diversifiable risk may accelerate or delay the optimal investment decision. Moreover, strategic considerations regarding technology adoption play a central role for the entrepreneur's optimal portfolio choice in the presence of non-diversifiable risk.
Role of Chd7 in Zebrafish: A Model for CHARGE Syndrome

CHARGE syndrome is caused by mutations in the CHD7 gene. Several organ systems including the retina, cranial nerves, inner ear and heart are affected in CHARGE syndrome. However, the mechanistic link between mutations in CHD7 and many of the organ systems dysfunction remains elusive. Here, we show that Chd7 is required for the organization of the neural retina in zebrafish. We observe an abnormal expression or a complete absence of molecular markers for the retinal ganglion cells and photoreceptors, indicating that Chd7 regulates the differentiation of retinal cells and plays an essential role in retinal cell development. In addition, zebrafish with reduced Chd7 display an abnormal organization and clustering of cranial motor neurons. We also note a pronounced reduction in the facial branchiomotor neurons and the vagal motor neurons display aberrant positioning. Further, these fish exhibit a severe loss of the facial nerves. Knock-down of Chd7 results in a curvature of the long body axis and these fish develop irregular shaped vertebrae and have a reduction in bone mineralization. Chd7 knockdown also results in a loss of proper segment polarity illustrated by flawed efnb2a and ttna expression, which is associated with later vascular segmentation defects. These critical roles for Chd7 in retinal and vertebral development were previously unrecognized and our results provide new insights into the role of Chd7 during development and in CHARGE syndrome pathogenesis.
A Comparison of Three Thought Constraint Treatment Analogues: Process Constraint, Reality Constraint, and Combined Process and Reality Constraint

Several studies have explored the application of self-generated attitude change model to the reduction of phobic affect. Three treatment analogues of constrained thought, previously demonstrated to attenuate polarized affect, were compared to detemine the relative efficacy of process constraint, reality constraint, and combined constraint. The effects of treatment were assessed with-measures of behavioral approach, physiological arousal, subjective fear report, self-appraised performance, and subject predictions of ability to cope in extralaboratory situations. It was predicted that the combined condition would provide the most powerful treatment analogue but this was not demonstrated. Subjects in all conditions improved across all measures, except physiological arousal, but not differentially. Several possible explanations, alternative theories, and remaining research issues are discussed. thought constraint comparisons 3 Several researchers have demonstrated that thinking can exaggerate attitudes about some objects (e.g., Leone & Ensley, 1986; Millar & Tesser, 1986; Tesser, 1978; Tesser & Conlee, 1975; Tesser & Leone, 1977). Thinking, in the absence of additional stimuli, can cause initially negative attitudes to become more negative and initially positive attitudes to become more positive. Thought-produced polarization of moderate attitudes is called self-generated attitude change because no new information is added to the cognitive system. The changes must, therefore, be intrinsic to the individual's thought process.
NQ-Flipper: recognition and correction of erroneous asparagine and glutamine side-chain rotamers in protein structures

The current Protein Data Bank (PDB) contains about 40 000 protein structures with approximately half a million incorrect atom positions resulting from erroneously assigned asparagine (Asn) and glutamine (Gln) rotamers. These errors affect applications in protein structure analysis, modeling and docking and therefore the detection, correction and prevention of such errors is highly desirable. We present NQ-Flipper, a web service based on mean force potentials to automatically detect and correct erroneous Asn and Gln rotamers. The service accepts protein structure files formatted in PDB style or PDB codes. For an Asn/Gln side-chain amide NQ-Flipper computes the total interaction energy with the surrounding atoms as the sum of pairwise atom–atom interaction energies. The energy difference between the original and the alternative rotamers identifies the correct configuration of the amide group. The web service lists the interaction energies of all Asn/Gln residues found in a PDB file and shows the structure and offending residues in an interactive 3D viewer. The corrected protein structure is available for download in various compression formats. The web service is accessible at http://flipper.services. came.sbg. ac.at
Walking algorithm of Apollo3D—The world champion in the RoboCup2013 3D soccer simulation competition

Quick and agile walking is indispensable for humanoid robots in the RoboCup soccer competition. So this paper mainly proposed a method to develop a flexible walking based on reinforcement learning for soccer robots. First, a linear inverted pendulum model with a predictive control is applied to generate a motion trajectory of the robot's trunk. Then, the Cerebellar Model Articulation Controller(CMAC) method is employed to optimize the walking parameters to keep dynamic balance of robots. Our team Apollo3D employed this walking skill, and won the first place in RoboCup 2013 3D simulation competition by winning 53 goals.
Irony in Language and Thought : A Cognitive Science Reader

Part I: Introduction. H.L. Colston, R.W. Gibbs, A Brief History of Irony. Part II: Theories of Irony. H. Clark, R. Gerrig, On the Pretense Theory of Irony. D. Wilson, D. Sperber, On Verbal Irony. S. Kumon-Nakamura, S. Glucksberg, M. Brown, How About Another Piece of Pie: The Allusional Pretense Theory of Discourse Irony. H.L. Colston, On Necessary Conditions for Verbal Irony Comprehension. S. Attardo, Irony as Relevant Inappropriateness. Part III: Context in Irony Comprehension. R.W. Gibbs, On the Psycholinguistics of Sarcasm. R. Giora, O. Fein, Irony: Context and Salience. S. McDonald, Neuropsychological Studies of Sarcasm. P. Pexman, T. Ferretti, A. Katz, Discourse Factors That Influence On-line Reading of Metaphor and Irony. J. Schwoebel, S. Dews, E. Winner, K. Srinivas, Obligatory Processing of Literal Meaning of Ironic Utterances: Further Evidence. C. Curco, Irony: Negation, Echo, and Metarepresentation. Part IV: The Social Functions of Irony. S. Dews, J. Kaplan, E. Winner, Why Not Say It Directly? The Social Functions of Irony. H.L. Colston, Salting a Wound or Sugaring a Pill: The Pragmatic Functions of Ironic Criticism. R.W. Gibbs, Irony in Talk Among Friends. L. Anolli, R. Ciceri, M. Infantino, From "Blame by Praise" to "Praise by Blame": Analysis of Vocal Patterns in Ironic Communication. H. Kotthoff, Responding to Irony in Different Contexts: On Cognition in Communication. Part V: Development of Irony Understanding. M. Creusere, A Developmental Test of Theoretical Perspectives on the Understanding of Verbal Irony: Children's Recognition of Allusion and Pragmatic Insincerity. J. Hancock, P. Dunham, K. Purdy, Children's Comprehension of Critical and Complimentary Forms of Verbal Irony. M. Glenwright, P. Pexman, Children's Perceptions of the Social Functions of Irony. Part VI: Situational Irony. J. Lucariello, Situational Irony: A Concept of Events Gone Awry. A. Utsumi, Verbal Irony as Implicit Display of Ironic Environment: Distinguishing Ironic Utterances From Nonirony. C. Shelley, The Bicoherence Theory of Situational Irony. Part VII: Conclusion. R.W. Gibbs, H.L. Colston, The Future of Irony Studies.
A Novel Detection Scheme Based on D-S Evidence Theory in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is a key technology which is deployed under the assumption that participating sensors are cooperative in forwarding each other's packets. However, some nodes may behave selfishly by dropping other's packets or refusing to provide services in an attempt to maximize its throughput with minimum expense. In this paper, we present a novel detection scheme based on Dempster-Shafer (D-S) evidence theory in WSN to detect and isolate misbehavior sensors. However, when the scheme is operated, counter-intuitive results may appear. To overcome this problem, this paper improves the original D-S evidence theory, which defines a new variable to modify the collected evidence before combination and then combines these evidences according to Dempster combination rule. Simulation results show that this scheme can detect and isolate misbehavior sensors effectively and accurately, suppress nodes collusion and improve network performance. Compared with other existing detection scheme, this scheme has more security, robustness and accuracy.
Lapatinib inhibits CIP2A/PP2A/p-Akt signaling and induces apoptosis in triple negative breast cancer cells

We tested the efficacy of lapatinib, a dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor which interrupts the HER2 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathways, in a panel of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells, and examined the drug mechanism. Lapatinib showed an anti-proliferative effect in HCC 1937, MDA-MB-468, and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Lapatinib induced significant apoptosis and inhibited CIP2A and p-Akt in a dose and time-dependent manner in the three TNBC cell lines. Overexpression of CIP2A reduced lapatinib-induced apoptosis in MDA-MB-468 cells. In addition, lapatinib increased PP2A activity (in relation to CIP2A inhibition). Moreover, lapatinib-induced apoptosis and p-Akt downregulation was attenuated by PP2A antagonist okadaic acid. Furthermore, lapatinib indirectly decreased CIP2A transcription by disturbing the binding of Elk1 to the CIP2A promoter. Importantly, lapatinib showed anti-tumor activity in mice bearing MDA-MB-468 xenograft tumors, and suppressed CIP2A as well as p-Akt in these xenografted tumors. In summary, inhibition of CIP2A determines the effects of lapatinib-induced apoptosis in TNBC cells. In addition to being a dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor of HER2 and EGFR, lapatinib also inhibits CIP2A/PP2A/p-Akt signaling in TNBC cells.
The Mistaken Assumption of Intentionality in Equal Protection Law: Psychological Science and the Interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment

In this article we explore the intersection of advances in the psychological science of intergroup attitudes and stereotypes and the law. Increasing recognition of the automatic and implicit nature of many attitudes, and their automatic influence on behavior, is making it clearer and clearer that the foundation on which Equal Protection analysis has been based is erroneous. While some legal scholars have attempted to apply the lessons from social psychology to employment discrimination, the same efforts have not been made with respect to Fourteenth Amendment and Equal Protection jurisprudence. Examining this disconnect leads to serious questions about the extent to which the current formulation of Equal Protection jurisprudence achieves its original and continuing aims of securing the equal protection of the laws for all citizens. In this article, we focus on the implications for Equal Protection jurisprudence of recent psychological science findings on prejudice and discrimination. We have chosen this focus because these implications could influence the protection of individual rights throughout society in fundamental ways.
Collaborative Security Assessments in Embedded Systems Development - The ESSAF Framework for Structured Qualitative Analysis

The standardization of network protocols and software components in embedded systems development has introduced security threats that have been common before in e-commerce and office systems into the domain of critical infrastructures. The ESSAF framework presented in this paper lays the ground for collaborative, structured security assessments during the design and development phase of these systems. Its three phases system modeling, security modeling and mitigation planning guide software developers in the independent assessment of their product’s security, minimizing the burden on security experts in the collection of security relevant data.
Intelligent mediation: an architecture for the real-time allocation of interface resources

Operator interfaces to supervisory-control systems are often highly complex, cumbersome to extract information from, and overwhehningl y verbose in the face of abnormal operating conditions. An oft-cited solution is to replace the conventional operator interface with an intelligent interface; one that mediates control system output to present the operator with intelligently formatted information. While an appealing idea, the question of how to do this remains unanswered: intelligent presentation of control system data is a difficult problem. The task is complex because it requires the realtime allocation of limited interface resources. An expert system architecture and methodology called intelligent mediation – for the real-time allocation of limited interface resources is proposed as a solution to this problem.
The Origins of Agriculture in the Near East

The emerging picture of plant and animal domestication and agricultural origins in the Near East is dramatically different from that drawn 16 years ago in a landmark article by Bar-Yosef and Meadow. While in 1995 there appeared to have been at least a 1,500-year gap between plant and animal domestication, it now seems that both occurred at roughly the same time, with initial management of morphologically wild future plant and animal domesticates reaching back to at least 11,500 cal BP, if not earlier. A focus on the southern Levant as the core area for crop domestication and diffusion has been replaced by a more pluralistic view that sees domestication of various crops and livestock occurring, sometimes multiple times in the same species, across the entire region. Morphological change can no longer be held to be a leading-edge indicator of domestication. Instead, it appears that a long period of increasingly intensive human management preceded the manifestation of archaeologically detectable morphological change in managed crops and livestock. Agriculture in the Near East arose in the context of broad-based systematic human efforts at modifying local environments and biotic communities to encourage plant and animal resources of economic interest. This process took place across the entire Fertile Crescent during a period of dramatic post-Pleistocene climate and environmental change with considerable regional variation in the scope and intensity of these activities as well as in the range of resources being manipulated.