Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Mimicry to Elicit Answers to Intimate Questions in Survey Research

Mimicry is generally associated with a feeling of similarity that often results in a positive perception of the mimicker. We hypothesized that participants would become less reluctant to respond to highly intimate questions when these questions were administered by a mimicking interviewer. A female confederate approached female students for their participation in a survey on sexual behavior in which the questions became increasingly intimate. During the survey, confederates mimicked or did not mimic the participants. It was found that participants in the mimicry condition responded to more questions than did nonparticipants.
HANDBOOK OF ELECTROMAGNETIC MATERIALS

bons, hydrocarbon polymers, ethylene copolymers, styrenics, acrylics, polyacrylonitrile and copolymers, other C-C main chain polymers, polyethers, polyamides, polyesters, main chain aromatics, and polymer blends. Data for approximately 200 polymers are presented. Each sample is fully identified as to origin, molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and treatment immediately before the test. Specific volume under ambient conditions is also given for each polymer. This book is a careful and complete compendium of pressure-volume-temperature data of polymers.
LEAFY COTYLEDON1-LIKE Defines a Class of Regulators Essential for Embryo Development Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.006973.

Arabidopsis LEAFY COTYLEDON1 (LEC1) is a critical regulator required for normal development during the early and late phases of embryogenesis that is sufficient to induce embryonic development in vegetative cells. LEC1 encodes a HAP3 subunit of the CCAAT binding transcription factor. We show that the 10 Arabidopsis HAP3 (AHAP3) subunits can be divided into two classes based on sequence identity in their central, conserved B domain. LEC1 and its most closely related subunit, LEC1-LIKE (L1L), constitute LEC1-type AHAP3 subunits, whereas the remaining AHAP3 subunits are designated non-LEC1-type. Similar to LEC1, L1L is expressed primarily during seed development. However, suppression of L1L gene expression induced defects in embryo development that differed from those of lec1 mutants, suggesting that LEC1 and L1L play unique roles in embryogenesis. We show that L1L expressed under the control of DNA sequences flanking the LEC1 gene suppressed genetically the lec1 mutation, suggesting that the LEC1-type B domains of L1L and LEC1 are critical for their function in embryogenesis. Our results also suggest that LEC1-type HAP3 subunits arose from a common origin uniquely in plants. Thus, L1L, an essential regulator of embryo development, defines a unique class of plant HAP3 subunits.
Collaboration planning and conflict resolution among multi autonomous robots

This paper presents a multiple autonomous robots collaboration model. On the basis of the research of autonomous robots belief and action in multirobot system by using nonlinear logic, we define autonomous agent's intention, which ensures every robot's action is Pareto rational, by using game theory. We also present intention generation algorithm, which ensures all autonomous robots without meta-level control can make joint plans collaboratively so as to achieve the best equilibrium state, at the conflict situation. <<ETX>>
Progressive Mixing Technique to Widen the Locking Range of High Division-Ratio Injection-Locked Frequency Dividers

This paper proposes progressive mixing as a technique to widen the locking range of injection locked frequency dividers (ILFDs) with higher division ratios. The ILFD locking range for a certain division ratio depends on the harmonics that are used to generate the injection signal. Compared to the conventional ILFD, the proposed technique uses much stronger harmonics in the mixing process to generate the injection signal more efficiently for higher division ratios. This is achieved through the reuse of higher harmonics of the ILFD fundamental oscillation frequency to perform progressive or multisteps divide-by-2 mixing of the injection signal. This results in that the injection signal is mixed with much stronger harmonics compared to the conventional single-step mixing and a stronger injection is produced. Since each divide-by-2 step uses higher harmonics of the fundamental, there is no increase in power consumption while the locking range is significantly enhanced. Two progressive mixing ILFDs are designed using a 65-nm CMOS to divide-by-4 and divide-by-8. The former has an operation range from 7.3 to 21.3 GHz while maintaining a locking range greater than 31% and consuming 3.9 mW from a 1.2-V supply. The latter has an operation range from 12.6 to 24.7 GHz while maintaining a locking range greater than 15% and consuming 7.1 mW from a 1.2-V supply.
Trend in Obesity Prevalence in European Adult Cohort Populations during Follow-up since 1996 and Their Predictions to 2015

Objective To investigate trends in obesity prevalence in recent years and to predict the obesity prevalence in 2015 in European populations. Methods Data of 97 942 participants from seven cohorts involved in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study participating in the Diogenes project (named as “Diogenes cohort” in the following) with weight measurements at baseline and follow-up were used to predict future obesity prevalence with logistic linear and non-linear (leveling off) regression models. In addition, linear and leveling off models were fitted to the EPIC-Potsdam dataset with five weight measures during the observation period to find out which of these two models might provide the more realistic prediction. Results During a mean follow-up period of 6 years, the obesity prevalence in the Diogenes cohort increased from 13% to 17%. The linear prediction model predicted an overall obesity prevalence of about 30% in 2015, whereas the leveling off model predicted a prevalence of about 20%. In the EPIC-Potsdam cohort, the shape of obesity trend favors a leveling off model among men (R2 = 0.98), and a linear model among women (R2 = 0.99). Conclusion Our data show an increase in obesity prevalence since the 1990ies, and predictions by 2015 suggests a sizeable further increase in European populations. However, the estimates from the leveling off model were considerably lower.
Is the female preponderance in major depression secondary to a gender difference in specific anxiety disorders?

Background. While a female preponderance in unipolar depression is a consistent finding in community-based studies, determinants remain speculative. This study aimed to examine whether a female preponderance in certain anxiety disorders drives a gender difference in depression. Method. The relevant data from the National Comorbidity Study (NCS) are analysed. Results. We observed a biphasic pattern in the emergence of a female preponderance in the depressive and anxiety disorders, with an initial pre-pubertal or early adolescent onset, and after attenuation in early to middle adulthood, re-emergence in mid- to late-adulthood. Analyses focused on determinants of the initial female preponderance. Female gender, presence of an anxiety disorder and variable ages of onset in the anxiety disorder all contributed to the increased chance of an initial depressive episode. Some specificity in linking the onset of depressive temporally in early adolescence with two anxiety disorders was demonstrated, specifically generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. Conclusions. The separate anxiety disorders and their age of onset had variable links with depression, but female gender remained a significant predictor of depression after accounting for the effects of prior anxiety.
Instrument Identification in Polyphonic Music: Feature Weighting with Mixed Sounds, Pitch-Dependent Timbre Modeling, and Use of Musical Context

This paper addresses the problem of identifying musical instruments in polyphonic music. Musical instrument identification (MII) is an improtant task in music information retrieval because MII results make it possible to automatically retrieving certain types of music (e.g., piano sonata, string quartet). Only a few studies, however, have dealt with MII in polyphonic music. In MII in polyphonic music, there are three issues: feature variations caused by sound mixtures, the pitch dependency of timbres, and the use of musical context. For the first issue, templates of feature vectors representing timbres are extracted from not only isolated sounds but also sound mixtures. Because some features are not robust in the mixtures, features are weighted according to their robustness by using linear discriminant analysis. For the second issue, we use an F0-dependent multivariate normal distribution, which approximates the pitch dependency as a function of fundamental frequency. For the third issue, when the instrument of each note is identified, the a priori probablity of the note is calculated from the a posteriori probabilities of temporally neighboring notes. Experimental results showed that recognition rates were improved from 60.8% to 85.8% for trio music and from 65.5% to 91.1% for duo music.
Measurements of water vapour vertical content from GOME using the ERA method: Comparisons with independent techniques

The ERA technique (Empirical Retrieval of Atmospheric air mass factor) makes maximum use of GOME’s capability to measure atmospheric spectra over a broad wavelength range with high spectral resolution, by retrieving a normalisation factor for the water vapour concentrations directly from the data (oxygen slant column measurements). ERA results are here compared to the ECMWF, SSM/I, and ERS-2 Microwave Radiometer TCWV (Total Column Water Vapour) showing good agreement
Policy Change and Access to 2- and 4-Year Colleges

Higher education grew spectacularly over the last half of the 20th century. The process of growth has been contested. As ethnic minorities and women mobilized to promote broader access, processes of countermobilization developed, exemplified by debates about academic excellence. One example is the 17-campus system of the City University of New York (CUNY). In 1970, it launched a policy of open admissions. The program created unusual access to baccalaureate programs. It was quite successful in enhancing educational and labor market attainments. It was especially important in improving minority students' chances. Nonetheless, the program was attacked relentlessly, especially in terms of access to its baccalaureate programs. With the advent of conservative political leadership in New York City and State, CUNY's policy has ended. In the future, a higher proportion of entering freshmen will be placed in community colleges. It may be expected that educational and economic attainments will be diminished.
Academic self‐beliefs and prior knowledge as predictors of student achievement in Mathematics: a structural model

The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between prior knowledge, academic self‐beliefs, and previous study success in predicting the achievement of 139 students on a university mathematics course. Structural equation modelling was used to explore the interplay of these variables in predicting student achievement. The results revealed that domain‐specific prior knowledge was the strongest predictor of student achievement over and above other variables included in the model and, together with previous study success, explained 55% of the variance. Academic self‐beliefs strongly correlated with previous study success and had a strong direct influence on prior knowledge test performance. However, self‐beliefs predicted student achievement only indirectly via prior knowledge. The results imply that both prior knowledge and self‐beliefs should be taken into account when considering instructional support issues, because they can provide valuable insights about the future performance of the students.
Social problem-solving correlates of sexual deviancy and aggression among adult child molesters

Cognitive-behavioral treatment programs for adult sex offenders often include training geared to improve a perpetrator's social problem-solving skills. However, little empirical evidence exists to date that documents the relationship between problem-solving and deviant sexual interest or behavior among child molesters. As such, this study investigated the association between problem-solving and two aspects of sexual offending—self-reported sexual deviancy and clinician-rated sexual aggression among a recruited sample of incarcerated child molesters. To minimize the potential for biased self-reports, criterion scores on a lie scale were employed to exclude individuals who might be prone to misrepresent their responses. Results indicated this sample to be characterized by significant deficits on all measures of social problem-solving as compared to the general population. In addition, a series of correlational analyses indicated that an avoidant problem-solving style was significantly associated with past s.
Analysis and Design of a Differentially-Fed Frequency Agile Microstrip Patch Antenna

The design of a frequency agile microstrip patch antenna is described that is readily interfaced with differential RF transceivers. By integrating three pairs of varactor diodes with the patch antenna, and tuning them in unison, frequency tuning ratios approaching 2 are possible with the design. This is made possible by the intrinsically broadband nature of the differential feeding scheme used. An intuitive equivalent circuit for predicting the port characteristics of the antenna is presented. Moreover, the circuit is shown to be highly accurate in predicting losses produced by the varactor diodes and the consequent radiation efficiency of the antenna. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time a detailed analysis of the effect of varactor diode losses has been undertaken in frequency agile antennas using an equivalent circuit. The equivalent circuit model is subsequently validated using full-wave simulations and experimental measurements of an antenna operating in the 2-4 GHz range.
WHO collaborative study on impairments and disabilities associated with schizophrenic disorders

According to WHO estimates up to two‐fifths of all disability is associated with mental disorders. Because of the severe burden of psychiatric disability on individuals, families and communities, programmes aiming at its prevention, containment or reduction are likely in the future to receive a high priority in public health planning. However, the rational selection of effective approaches to disability prevention and reduction is hampered by the absence of: (i) agreed concepts and criteria of psychiatric impairments and disabilities; (ii) standardized methods for assessment; and (iü) knowledge about the predictors and precursors of specific impairments and disabilities in patients suffering from mental disorders.
Initial Validation of the Male Role Norms Inventory-Revised (MRNI-R)

This article reports the results of the initial evaluation of the revised version of the Male Role Norms Inventory (MRNI-R). The MRNI-R assesses only traditional male role norms (thus dropping the Non-Traditional Attitudes subscale of the original MRNI), revises the labeling and content of the Self-Reliance subscale, drops the Achievement/Status subscale and substitutes the Dominance subscale, and updates the language throughout the instrument. The MRNI-R was administered to 170 undergraduate and graduate students (38 men and 132 women). One hundred and seven initial items were reduced to fifty-three items following iterative analyses of item-to-subscale correlations. Improved reliabilities were found for the MRNI-R and its subscales, with Cronbach alphas ranging from . 73 to . 96. Significant sex and racial/ethnic differences were found with respect to the endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology, providing support for its construct validity.
Developing Virtual Heritage Application with 3D Collaborative Virtual Environments and Mobile Devices in a Multi-cultural Team: Experiences and Challenges

Until recently museums have been the sole repositories of an objective factual history. However, with the advent of online interactive media, there has been a shift to alternate forms of cultural exposition. This paper presents a project where 3D CVE is augmented with mobile devices in order to support a collaborative educational exploration of a famous historical site in Norway, where Battle of Stiklestad took place in 1030. This system can be used by both local and distant learning communities, working together towards a common goal. The paper presents a background for the project and describes the preliminary design. Finally, the paper discusses the challenges associated with developing educational augmented virtual heritage applications in a multicultural context.
Sex differences in scanning faces: Does attention to the eyes explain female superiority in facial expression recognition?

Previous meta-analyses support a female advantage in decoding non-verbal emotion (Hall, 1978, 1984), yet the mechanisms underlying this advantage are not understood. The present study examined whether the female advantage is related to greater female attention to the eyes. Eye-tracking techniques were used to measure attention to the eyes in 19 males and 20 females during a facial expression recognition task. Women were faster and more accurate in their expression recognition compared with men, and women looked more at the eyes than men. Positive relationships were observed between dwell time and number of fixations to the eyes and both accuracy of facial expression recognition and speed of facial expression recognition. These results support the hypothesis that the female advantage in facial expression recognition is related to greater female attention to the eyes.
Noncoherent iterative decoding of spectrally efficient coded modulations

In this paper, we consider possible solutions for noncoherent decoding of concatenated codes with spectrally efficient modulations. Two main classes of schemes are considered. A first class is obtained by concatenating parallel coding schemes with differential encoding. A second class considers serially concatenated coding structures and possible schemes derived from turbo trellis coded modulation (t-tcm), which do not employ differential encoding. In the first case, at the receiver side we consider separate detection and decoding, while in the second case we consider joint detection and decoding. The major problem connected with such an iterative decoding procedure is that taking into account an augmented channel memory leads to an intolerable trellis size, and hence to an impractical decoding complexity. Reduced-complexity techniques suited to iterative decoding become fundamental, and we consider a recently proposed state-reduction technique. This way, the performance of a coherent receiver is approached, by keeping the number of receiver states fixed. RésuméDans cet article on étudie les solutions envisageables pour le décodage non-cohérent des codes concaténés associés à des modulations à forte efficacité spectrale. Deux principaux types de schéma sont considérés. Le premier type est obtenu par concaténation d’un turbocode parallèle avec un codeur différentiel. Le second type utilise des concaténations en série associées à un des schéma dérivé de turbo modulations codées en treillis (ttcm) sans utiliser de codeur differéntiel. Dans le premier cas, du côté réception, on considère séparement la détection et le décodage, tandis que dans le second cas, on les considère conjointement. Le principal problème d’un procédé itératif de décodage est que prendre en compte une mémoire du canal supplémentaire conduit à une taille de treillis prohibitive, et done à une complexité de décodage trop importante. Appliquer des techniques de réduction de complexité au décodage itératif devient indispensable et on a considéré une méthode récemment proposée de réduction des états. De cette façon, en gardant un nombre d’états du récepteur fixe, les performances d’un récepteur cohérent sont approchées.
Insect adhesion on rough surfaces: analysis of adhesive contact of smooth and hairy pads on transparent microstructured substrates

Insect climbing footpads are able to adhere to rough surfaces, but the details of this capability are still unclear. To overcome experimental limitations of randomly rough, opaque surfaces, we fabricated transparent test substrates containing square arrays of 1.4 µm diameter pillars, with variable height (0.5 and 1.4 µm) and spacing (from 3 to 22 µm). Smooth pads of cockroaches (Nauphoeta cinerea) made partial contact (limited to the tops of the structures) for the two densest arrays of tall pillars, but full contact (touching the substrate in between pillars) for larger spacings. The transition from partial to full contact was accompanied by a sharp increase in shear forces. Tests on hairy pads of dock beetles (Gastrophysa viridula) showed that setae adhered between pillars for larger spacings, but pads were equally unable to make full contact on the densest arrays. The beetles' shear forces similarly decreased for denser arrays, but also for short pillars and with a more gradual transition. These observations can be explained by simple contact models derived for soft uniform materials (smooth pads) or thin flat plates (hairy-pad spatulae). Our results show that microstructured substrates are powerful tools to reveal adaptations of natural adhesives for rough surfaces.
The User-Centered Design as Novel Perspective for Evaluating the Usability of BCI-Controlled Applications

Albeit research on brain-computer interfaces (BCI) for controlling applications has expanded tremendously, we still face a translational gap when bringing BCI to end-users. To bridge this gap, we adapted the user-centered design (UCD) to BCI research and development which implies a shift from focusing on single aspects, such as accuracy and information transfer rate (ITR), to a more holistic user experience. The UCD implements an iterative process between end-users and developers based on a valid evaluation procedure. Within the UCD framework usability of a device can be defined with regard to its effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction. We operationalized these aspects to evaluate BCI-controlled applications. Effectiveness was regarded equivalent to accuracy of selections and efficiency to the amount of information transferred per time unit and the effort invested (workload). Satisfaction was assessed with questionnaires and visual-analogue scales. These metrics have been successfully applied to several BCI-controlled applications for communication and entertainment, which were evaluated by end-users with severe motor impairment. Results of four studies, involving a total of N = 19 end-users revealed: effectiveness was moderate to high; efficiency in terms of ITR was low to high and workload low to medium; depending on the match between user and technology, and type of application satisfaction was moderate to high. The here suggested evaluation metrics within the framework of the UCD proved to be an applicable and informative approach to evaluate BCI controlled applications, and end-users with severe impairment and in the locked-in state were able to participate in this process.