In this article we present an advanced version of Dual-PECCS, a cognitively-inspired knowledge representation and reasoning system aimed at extending the capabilities of artificial systems in conceptual categorization tasks. It combines different sorts of common-sense categorization (prototypical and exemplars-based categorization) with standard monotonic categorization procedures. These different types of inferential procedures are reconciled according to the tenets coming from the dual process theory of reasoning. On the other hand, from a representational perspective, the system relies on the hypothesis of conceptual (...) structures represented as heterogeneous proxytypes. Dual-PECCS has been experimentally assessed in a task of conceptual categorization where a target concept illustrated by a simple common-sense linguistic description had to be identified by resorting to a mix of categorization strategies, and its output has been compared to human responses. The obtained results suggest that our approach can be beneficial to improve the representational and reasoning conceptual capabilities of standard cognitive artificial systems, and –in addition– that it may be plausibly applied to different general computational models of cognition. The current version of the system, in fact, extends our previous work, in that Dual-PECCS is now integrated and tested into two cognitive architectures, ACT-R and CLARION, implementing different assumptions on the underlying invariant structures governing human cognition. Such integration allowed us to extend our previous evaluation. (shrink)

Cross-classified random effects models have been developed for appropriately analyzing data with a cross-classified structure. Despite its flexibility and the prevalence of cross-classified data in social and behavioral research, CCREMs have been under-utilized in applied research. In this article, we present CCREMs as a general and flexible modeling framework, and present a wide range of existing models designed for different purposes as special instances of CCREMs. We also introduce several less well-known applications of CCREMs. The flexibility of CCREMs allows these (...) models to be easily extended to address substantive questions. We use the free R package PLmixed to illustrate the estimation of these models, and show how the general language of the CCREM framework can be translated into specific modeling contexts. (shrink)

Stock markets accurately reflect countries’ economic health, and stock returns are tightly related to economic indices. One popular area of financial research is the factors that influence stock returns. Several investigations have frequently cited macroeconomic factors, among numerous elements. Therefore, this study focuses on the empirical analysis of the relationship between macroeconomic factors and stock market returns. When a stock market becomes increasingly volatile, it becomes susceptible to economic uncertainty news, and information on social media platforms. Thus, we incorporated a (...) new dimension of economic uncertainty news sentiment for stock return predictions. We employed the daily data ofgold index, crude oil price, interest rate, exchange rate, and stock returns for a set of countries from January 2010 to December 2020. Subsequently, to compute coefficients, we conducted a regression analysis using one of the more sophisticated approaches: single-layer neural networks and ordinary least square regression. In addition, we only computed EUNS for the period of the fiscal budget announcement for the US, Turkey, and Hong Kong. The results indicate that the gold index, interest rate, and exchange rate are highly significant and negative macroeconomic factors for all analyzed countries. These findings also indicate that EUNS is important and detrimental for projecting stock returns. (shrink)

For efficient energy distribution, microgrids provide significant assistance to main grids and act as a bridge between the power generation and consumption. Renewable energy generation resources, particularly photovoltaics, are considered as a clean source of energy but are highly complex, volatile, and intermittent in nature making their forecasting challenging. Thus, a reliable, optimized, and a robust forecasting method deployed at MG objectifies these challenges by providing accurate renewable energy production forecasting and establishing a precise power generation and consumption matching at (...) MG. Furthermore, it ensures effective planning, operation, and acquisition from the main grid in the case of superior or inferior amounts of energy, respectively. Therefore, in this work, we develop an end-to-end hybrid network for automatic PV power forecasting, comprising three basic steps. Firstly, data preprocessing is performed to normalize, remove the outliers, and deal with the missing values prominently. Next, the temporal features are extracted using deep sequential modelling schemes, followed by the extraction of spatial features via convolutional neural networks. These features are then fed to fully connected layers for optimal PV power forecasting. In the third step, the proposed model is evaluated on publicly available PV power generation datasets, where its performance reveals lower error rates when compared to state-of-the-art methods. (shrink)

Cloud computing paradigm is growing rapidly, and it allows users to get services via the Internet as pay-per-use and it is convenient for developing, deploying, and accessing mobile applications. Currently, security is a requisite concern owning to the open and distributed nature of the cloud. Copious amounts of data are responsible for alluring hackers. Thus, developing efficacious IDS is an imperative task. This article analyzed four intrusion detection systems for the detection of attacks. Two standard benchmark datasets, namely, NSL-KDD and (...) UNSW-NB15, were used for the simulations. Additionally, this study highlights the proliferating challenges for the security of sensitive user data and gives useful recommendations to address the identified issues. Finally, the projected results show that the hybridization method with support vector machine classifier outperforms the existing techniques in the case of the datasets investigated. (shrink)

Rho proteins belong to the small GTPases superfamily. They function as molecular switches that, in response to diverse stimuli, control key signaling and structural aspects of the cell. Although early studies proposed a role for Rho GTPases in cellular transformation, this effect was underestimated due to the fact that no genetic mutations affecting Rho‐encoding genes were found in tumors. Recently, it has become evident that Rho GTPases participate in the carcinogenic process by either overexpression of some of the members of (...) the family with oncogenic activity, downmodulation of other members with suggested tumor suppressor activity, or by alteration of upstream modulators or downstream effectors. Thus, alteration of the levels of expression of different members of the family of Rho GTPases has been detected in many types of human tumors leading to a great interest in the cellular effects elicited by these oncoproteins. This essay reviews the current evidence of dysregulation of Rho signaling by overexpression in human tumors. BioEssays 27:602–613, 2005. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Rho GTPases are critically important and are centrally positioned regulators of the actomyosin cytoskeleton. By influencing the organization and architecture of the cytoskeleton, Rho proteins play prominent roles in many cellular processes including adhesion, migration, intra‐cellular transportation, and proliferation. The most important method of Rho GTPase regulation is via the GTPase cycle; however, post‐translational modifications (PTMs) also play critical roles in Rho protein regulation. Relative to other PTMs such as lipidation or phosphorylation that have been extensively characterized, protein oxidation is (...) a regulatory PTM that has been poorly studied. Protein oxidation primarily occurs from the reaction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), with amino acid side chain thiols on cysteine (Cys) and methionine (Met) residues. The versatile redox modifications of cysteine residues exemplify their integral role in cell signalling processes. Here we review prominent members of the Rho GTPase family and discuss how lipidation, phosphorylation, and oxidation on conserved cysteine residues affects their regulation and function. (shrink)

The Rho GTPases—Rho, Rac and Cdc42—act as molecular switches, cycling between an active GTP‐bound state and an inactive GDP‐bound state, to regulate the actin cytoskeleton. It has recently become apparent that the Rho GTPases can be activated in subcellular zones that appear semi‐stable, yet are dynamically maintained. These Rho GTPase activity zones are associated with a variety of fundamental biological processes including symmetric and asymmetric cytokinesis and cellular wound repair. Here we review the basic features of Rho GTPase activity zones, (...) suggest that these zones represent a fundamental signaling mechanism, and discuss the implications of zone properties from the perspective of both their function and how they are likely to be controlled. BioEssays 28: 983–993, 2006. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Rho, a member of the Ras superfamily of small GTPases, has multiple biological roles: it regulates signal trasduction pathways linking extracellular growth factors to the assembly of actin stress fibres and focal adhesion complexes; it is required for G1 progression and activates the SRF transcription factor when quiescent fibroblasts are stimulated to grow; and it plays a role later in the cell cycle during cytokinesis. Two groups have recently succeeded in identifying downstream effectors of Rho that may mediate some of (...) these biological effects. One protein identified by both groups is protein kinase N (PKN), a serine/threonine kinase whose catalytic domain is closely related to that of protein kinase C(1,2). (shrink)

Experiments with cell lines have unveiled the implication of the Rho/Rac family of GTPases in cytoskeletal organization, mitogenesis, and cell migration. However, there have not been adequate animal models to investigate the role of these proteins in more physiological settings. This scenario has changed recently in the case of the T‐cell lineage after the generation of animal models for Rho/Rac family members, their regulators, and effectors. These studies have revealed the implication of these GTPases on multiple regulatory layers of T‐cells, (...) including the coordination of cytoskeletal change, activation of kinase cascades, stimulation of calcium fluxes, and the induction of gene expression. These pathways affect the transition of different T‐cell maturation stages, the positive/negative selection of thymocytes, T‐cell responses to antigens, and the homeostasis of peripheral T‐lymphocytes. Moreover, these animals have revealed interesting cross‐talks between Rho/Rac pathways and other signal transduction routes that participate in lymphocyte responses. BioEssays 24:602–612, 2002. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

The third author gave a natural deduction style proof system called the \-calculus for implicational fragment of classical logic in. In -calculus, 2015, Post-proceedings of the RIMS Workshop “Proof Theory, Computability Theory and Related Issues”, to appear), the fourth author gave a natural subsystem “intuitionistic \-calculus” of the \-calculus, and showed the system corresponds to intuitionistic logic. The proof is given with tree sequent calculus, but is complicated. In this paper, we introduce some reduction rules for the \-calculus, and give (...) a simple and purely syntactical proof to the theorem by use of the reduction. In addition, we show that we can give a computation model with rich expressive power with our system. (shrink)

Small GTPases in the Rho family act as major nodes with functions beyond cytoskeletal rearrangements shaping the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo during development. These small GTPases are key signal transducers that integrate diverse developmental signals to produce a coordinated response in the cell. In C. elegans, the best studied members of these highly conserved Rho family small GTPases, RHO‐1/RhoA, CED‐10/Rac, and CDC‐42, are crucial in several cellular processes dealing with cytoskeletal reorganization. In this review, we update the functions described for the (...) Rho family small GTPases in spindle orientation and cell division, engulfment, and cellular movements during C. elegans embryogenesis, focusing on the Rho subfamily Rac.Please also see the video abstract here. (shrink)

Rho/Rac proteins constitute a subgroup of the Ras superfamily of GTP hydrolases. Although originally implicated in the control of cytoskeletal events, it is currently known that these GTPases coordinate diverse cellular functions, including cell polarity, vesicular trafficking, the cell cycle and transcriptomal dynamics. In this review, we will provide an overview on the recent advances in this field regarding the mechanism of regulation and signaling, and the roles in vivo of this important GTPase family. BioEssays 29:356–370, 2007. © 2007 Wiley (...) Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Metastasis is one of the clinical parameters that has a strong negative influence on the prognosis of cancer patients. In recent years, significant advances have furthered our understanding of this process at the molecular and biological levels. This paper will discuss recent discoveries relating to the earliest, intra‐tumoral stages of metastasis in cancer cells, specifically focusing on: (i) the development of metastatic traits during primary tumorigenesis; (ii) intrinsic and extrinsic cancer cell programs associated with malignant traits; (iii) the intra‐tumoral migration (...) patterns of cancer cells and the dynamic roles played by the Rho/Rac GTPases and epithelial‐mesenchymal transitions in this process; and (iv) the genetic strategies used by metastatic cancer cells to promote intra‐tumoral cell migration and their subsequent escape to peripheral tissues. Finally, the therapeutic and diagnostic relevance of this information will be discussed, as well as potential future developments. (shrink)

Marc Richir est l'un des phénoménologues les plus importants de sa génération. Ces conversations avec Sacha Carlson sont d'abord l'occasion de revenir sur son itinéraire philosophique et intellectuel. Il s'y explique pour la première fois sur sa formation et sur les sources initiales de sa pensée, de celles qui ont éveillé son mouvement. Au fil de la discussion, il reprend en outre les thèmes principaux de son oeuvre, à savoir le phénomène comme rien que phénomène, le simulacre, l'épochè phénoménologique hyperbolique, (...) le sublime, l'affectivité, l'architectonique, l'institution symbolique, etc. Sans sacrifier à la vulgarisation, mais en restant fidèle à l'exigence du dialogue philosophique qui invite à étayer le propos sur des exemples concrets, ces conversations ouvrent non seulement sur une retraversée de l'oeuvre et de ses moments fondamentaux, mais aussi sur une méditation, dans le présent de la parole échangée, où le phénoménologue s'explique sur son rapport avec d'autres champs de recherche, comme l'anthropologie, la psychanalyse, les mathématiques, la physique, l'art, le politique et l'histoire. (shrink)

Rnd3/RhoE has two distinct functions, regulating the actin cytoskeleton and cell proliferation. This might explain why its expression is often altered in cancer and by multiple stimuli during development and disease. Rnd3 together with its relatives Rnd1 and Rnd2 are atypical members of the Rho GTPase family in that they do not hydrolyse GTP. Rnd3 and Rnd1 both antagonise RhoA/ROCK‐mediated actomyosin contractility, thereby regulating cell migration, smooth muscle contractility and neurite extension. In addition, Rnd3 has been shown to have a (...) separate role in inhibiting cell cycle progression by reducing translation of cell cycle regulators, including cyclin D1 and Myc. We propose that Rnd3 could act as a tumour suppressor to limit proliferation, but when mutations bypass this activity of Rnd3, it can promote cancer invasion through its effects in the actin cytoskeleton. (shrink)

Cellular mechanisms whereby quiescent stem cells sense tissue injury and transition to an activated state are largely unknown. Quiescent skeletal muscle stem cells (MuSCs, also called satellite cells) have elaborate, heterogeneous projections that rapidly retract in response to muscle injury. They may therefore act as direct sensors of their niche environment. Retraction is driven by a Rac‐to‐Rho GTPase activity switch that promotes downstream MuSC activation events. These and other observations lead to several hypotheses: (1) projections are morphologically dynamic at quiescence, (...) providing a surveillance function for muscle damage; (2) quiescent projection dynamics are regulated by the relative balance of Rac and Rho activities promoted by niche‐derived cues; (3) projections, particularly their associated filopodia, sense tissue damage via changes to the biomechanical properties of the niche and/or detection of signaling cues released by damaged myofibers; and (4) the dynamic nature of projections results in a population of MuSCs with heterogeneous functional properties. These concepts may extend to other types of quiescent stem cells, as well as prove useful in translational research settings. (shrink)

The reliability of a test score is discussed from the viewpoint of underestimation of and, specifically, deflation in estimates or reliability. Many widely used estimators are known to underestimate reliability. Empirical cases have shown that estimates by widely used estimators such as alpha, theta, omega, and rho may be deflated by up to 0.60 units of reliability or even more, with certain types of datasets. The reason for this radical deflation lies in the item–score correlation embedded in the estimators: because (...) the estimates by Rit are deflated when the number of categories in scales are far from each other, as is always the case with item and score, the estimates of reliability are deflated as well. A short-cut method to reach estimates closer to the true magnitude, new types of estimators, and deflation-corrected estimators of reliability, are studied in the article. The empirical section is a study on the characteristics of combinations of DCERs formed by different bases for estimators, different alternative estimators of correlation as the linking factor between item and the score variable, and different conditions. Based on the simulation, an initial typology of the families of DCERs is presented: some estimators are better with binary items and some with polytomous items; some are better with small sample sizes and some with larger ones. (shrink)

For T any completion of Peano Arithmetic and for n any positive integer, there is a model of T of size $\beth_n$ with no (n + 1)-length sequence of indiscernibles. Hence the Hanf number for omitting types over T, H(T), is at least $\beth_\omega$ . (Now, using an upper bound previously obtained by Julia Knight H (true arithmetic) is exactly $\beth_\omega$ ). If T ≠ true arithmetic, then $H(T) = \beth_{\omega1}$ . If $\delta \not\rightarrow (\rho)^{ , then any completion of (...) Peano Arithmetic has a model of size δ with no set of indiscernibles of size ρ. There are similar results for theories strongly resembling Peano Arithmetic, e.g., ZF + V = L. (shrink)

We have recently developed a new understanding of probability in quantum gravity. In this paper we provide an overview of this new approach and its implications. Adopting the de Broglie–Bohm pilot-wave formulation of quantum physics, we argue that there is no Born rule at the fundamental level of quantum gravity with a non-normalisable Wheeler–DeWitt wave functional \(\Psi\). Instead the universe is in a perpetual state of quantum nonequilibrium with a probability density \(P\ne \left| \Psi \right| ^{2}\). Dynamical relaxation to the (...) Born rule can occur only after the early universe has emerged into a semiclassical or Schrödinger approximation, with a time-dependent and normalisable wave functional \(\psi\), for non-gravitational systems on a classical spacetime background. In that regime the probability density \(\rho\) can relax towards \(\left| \psi \right| ^{2}\) (on a coarse-grained level). Thus the pilot-wave theory of gravitation supports the hypothesis of primordial quantum nonequilibrium, with relaxation to the Born rule taking place soon after the big bang. We also show that quantum-gravitational corrections to the Schrödinger approximation allow quantum nonequilibrium \(\rho \ne \left| \psi \right| ^{2}\) to be created from a prior equilibrium ( \(\rho =\left| \psi \right| ^{2}\) ) state. Such effects are very tiny and difficult to observe in practice. (shrink)

The notion of non-equilibrium, in the sense of a particle distribution other than rho equal psi squared, is imported into Nelson’s stochastic mechanics, and described in terms of effective wavefunctions obeying non-linear equations. These techniques are applied to the discussion of non-locality in non-linear Schroedinger equations.

Following Dirac's generalized canonical formalism, we develop a quantization scheme for theN-dimensional system described by the Lagrangian $L_0 (\dot y,y) = \frac{1}{2}h_{ij} (y)\dot y^i \dot y^j + b_i (y)\dot y^i - w(y)$ which is supposed to be invariant under the gauge transformation $y^i \to y\prime ^i = y^i + (\rho ^i _\alpha + \sigma ^i _{\alpha j} \dot y^j )\delta \Lambda ^\alpha + \tau ^i _\alpha \delta \dot \Lambda ^\alpha$ . The gauge invariance necessarily implies that the Lagrangian is singular. (...) The identities imposed by the gauge invariance are enumerated and reduced to simpler forms. There are primary and secondary constraints, both of which are of first class. The reduced identities are solved explicitly for the case where the secondary constraints constitute the generators of the groupSO(M), and thus an explicit expression for the manifestly gauge-invariant Lagrangian is obtained. By fixing the gauge appropriately, the unphysical variables are eliminated and a quantization is achieved using only physical variables. Our formulation is covariant under an arbitrary point transformation of physical variables. The problem of formulating a quantum action principle is also commented on briefly. (shrink)

Fully automated vehicles (AVs) hold promise toward providing numerous societal benefits including reducing road fatalities. However, we are uncertain about how individuals’ perceptions will influence their ability to accept and adopt AVs. The 28-item Automated Vehicle User Perception Survey (AVUPS) is a visual analog scale that was previously constructed, with established face and content validity, to assess individuals’ perceptions of AVs. In this study, we examined construct validity, via exploratory factor analysis and subsequent Mokken scale analyses. Next, internal consistency was (...) assessed via Cronbach’s alpha (α) and 2-week test–retest reliability was assessed via Spearman’s rho (ρ) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The Mokken scale analyses resulted in a refined 20-item AVUPS and three Mokken subscales assessing specific domains of adults’ perceptions of AVs: (a)Intention to use; (b)perceived barriers; and (c)well-being. The Mokken scale analysis showed that all item-coefficients of homogeneity (H) exceeded 0.3, indicating that the items reflect a single latent variable. The AVUPS indicated a strong Mokken scale (Hscale= 0.51) with excellent internal consistency (α = 0.95) and test–retest reliability (ρ = 0.76, ICC = 0.95). Similarly, the three Mokken subscales ranged from moderate to strong (rangeHscale= 0.47–0.66) and had excellent internal consistency (range α = 0.84–0.94) and test–retest reliability (range ICC = 0.84–0.93). The AVUPS and three Mokken subscales of AV acceptance were validated in a moderate sample size (N= 312) of adults living in the United States. Two-week test–retest reliability was established using a subset of Amazon Mechanical Turk participants (N= 84). The AVUPS, or any combination of the three subscales, can be used to validly and reliably assess adults’ perceptions before and after being exposed to AVs. The AVUPS can be used to quantify adults’ acceptance of fully AVs. (shrink)

Students’ personal, emotional, and psychological traits are perceived to be highly influential in their academic engagement; therefore, many investigations have been conducted into the role of students’ characteristics in their level of engagement. Yet, the role of L2 enjoyment and academic motivation as two instances of students’ emotional traits was disregarded. To narrow this gap, this article aimed to assess the effects of these two constructs on Chinese EFL students’ academic engagement. To accomplish this, three pre-designed scales were virtually administered (...) to 490 Chinese students. Using the Spearman Rho test, significant correlations were discovered among the variables. Further, through regression analysis, the predictive power of dependent variables was also assessed. Chinese students’ academic engagement was proved to be favorably predicted by L2 enjoyment and academic motivation. The implications and limitations are finally discussed. (shrink)

Cyclic nucleotides can regulate the sensitivity of retinal rods to light through phosducin. The phosphorylation state of phosducin determines the amount of G available for activation by Rho*. Phosducin phosphorylation is regulated by cyclic nucleotides through their activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The regulation of phosphodiesterase activity by the noncatalytic cGMP binding sites as well as Ca2+/calmodulin dependent regulation of cGMP binding to the cation channel are also discussed.