Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MediaMill at TRECVID 2014: Searching Concepts, Objects, Instances and Events in Video

In this paper we summarize our TRECVID 2014 [12] video retrieval experiments. The MediaMill team participated in five tasks: concept detection, object localization, instance search, event recognition and recounting. We experimented with concept detection using deep learning and color difference coding [17], object localization using FLAIR [23], instance search by one example [19], event recognition based on VideoStory [4], and event recounting using COSTA [10]. Our experiments focus on establishing the video retrieval value of these innovations. The 2014 edition of the TRECVID benchmark has again been a fruitful participation for the MediaMill team, resulting in the best result for concept detection and object localization.
Epidemiology of Posttransplantation Lymphoproliferative Disorder in Adult Renal Transplant Recipients

Background There is little information in the literature describing the relationship between posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) incidence and presentation with both recipient Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) serostatus and EBV status of PTLD histology, particularly in the late posttransplantation period. Methods This study reports the largest UK single-center, single-organ analysis of PTLD to date in a retrospective cohort study of 80 cases occurring in 4189 adult renal transplant recipients. Results The incidence rate was 2.6 cases per 1000 patient-years (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.1–3.2) for PTLD, 1.8 (95% CI, 1.4–2.4) for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and 0.2 (95% CI, 0.07–4.2) for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma occurred at a rate 7.6 times that of the adult general population in England, whereas the rate for Hodgkin’s lymphoma was 5.9 times. The incidence of PTLD was highest during the 10th to 14th posttransplantation years. Early-onset disease was associated with EBV-seronegative recipient status, EBV-positive histology, and the involvement of extranodal sites. PTLD occurring in EBV-seronegative recipients was associated with EBV nuclear antigen antibody deficiency, polymorphic disease, and the involvement of extranodal sites. EBV-negative histology occurred in 32% of cases at a median time to presentation of 109 months. PTLD involving the allograft, central nervous system, and skin was uncommon and occurred late. Conclusion The incidence of PTLD is highest in the late posttransplantation period. Close clinical surveillance and education for transplant recipients is required for the duration of time while immunosuppressed. Failure to detect EBV DNA in blood should not reassure, particularly in patients with symptoms such as abdominal pain, oropharyngeal complaints, neck lumps, and B-symptoms.
Intrinsic‐Extrinsic Religiosity and University Students' Willingness to Donate Organs Posthumously

This research focuses on the links between intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientations as they relate to willingness to donate organs posthumously. Participants responded to a factual test of their knowledge about organ donation, indicated their degree of willingness to donate organs, and filled out personality inventories measuring their intrinsic and extrinsic orientations. The data indicated a high level of factual knowledge about organ donation. Also, contrary to Allport's (1966) arguments, people with an intrinsic religious orientation were not more likely to donate their organs, nor were people with an extrinsic religious orientation less likely to do so. Instead, it was found that intrinsic religiosity was unrelated to willingness to donate organs and that extrinsics with strong social orientations were more willing to donate their organs. Discussion centers on the need to develop more psy-chometrically sound measures of mature religiosity as a means of conducting a fairer test of Allport's original theorizing about intrinsic religiosity.
“We’re here because we’re Black”: the schooling experiences of French-speaking African-Canadian students with refugee backgrounds

This article discusses the educational experiences of a group of French-speaking Black African-born students who entered Canada as refugees. They were attending a French school and were placed in a separate programme that was designed to meet their particular needs given their limited language skills and level of education. Drawing on critical race theory (CRT), the article analyzes how these students’ identities operated in linking their academic abilities and particular life experiences in terms of race, gender, class, language, and immigrant status. The youth identified their separate programme as a problem in that their placement in it has to do with the fact that they are Black. The study provides important insights into the ways students with refugee backgrounds are being integrated into Canadian schools; and that, in some cases, the approach to their education operates to stream them along the lines of ethnicity, race, and life experience – the consequence of which is likely limited educational, occupational and social outcomes.
BAM Learning of Nonlinearly Separable Tasks by Using an Asymmetrical Output Function and Reinforcement Learning

Most bidirectional associative memory (BAM) networks use a symmetrical output function for dual fixed-point behavior. In this paper, we show that by introducing an asymmetry parameter into a recently introduced chaotic BAM output function, prior knowledge can be used to momentarily disable desired attractors from memory, hence biasing the search space to improve recall performance. This property allows control of chaotic wandering, favoring given subspaces over others. In addition, reinforcement learning can then enable a dual BAM architecture to store and recall nonlinearly separable patterns. Our results allow the same BAM framework to model three different types of learning: supervised, reinforcement, and unsupervised. This ability is very promising from the cognitive modeling viewpoint. The new BAM model is also useful from an engineering perspective; our simulations results reveal a notable overall increase in BAM learning and recall performances when using a hybrid model with the general regression neural network (GRNN).
Using Subjective Norms To Predict Teachers' Computer Use

AbstractThis study examined the predictiveness of several personal variables of elementary school teachers to their use of available computers for teaching (N = 138). Teachers from 12 schools completed questionnaires that assessed (a) three levels of computer use, (b) subjective norms, (c) innovativeness, (d) perceived relevance of computers to teaching, and (e) self-competence in the use of computers. Data on age, gender, and years of computer experience were also collected. Logistic regression procedures were used to analyze the relationships between teacher characteristics and computer use. About one-third of the teachers reported not using computers for teaching. Subjective norms were most closely related to teachers' computer use. The results suggest the need to consider subjective norms when planning training intervention or differential staffing for reconciling teachers and their computer use.
Feeding problems in merosin-deficient congenital muscular dystrophy

Feeding difficulties were assessed in 14 children (age range 2–14 years) with merosin deficient congenital muscular dystrophy, a disease characterised by severe muscle weakness and inability to achieve independent ambulation. Twelve of the 14 children were below the 3rd centile for weight. On questioning, all parents thought their child had difficulty chewing, 12 families modified the diet, and 13 children took at least 30 minutes to complete a meal. On examination the mouth architecture was abnormal in 13 children. On videofluoroscopy only the youngest child (2 years old), had a normal study. The others all had an abnormal oral phase (breakdown and manipulation of food and transfer to oropharynx). Nine had an abnormal pharyngeal phase, with a delayed swallow reflex. Three of these also showed pooling of food in the larynx and three showed frank aspiration. These six cases all had a history of recurrent chest infections. Six of eight children who had pH monitoring also had gastro-oesophageal reflux. As a result of the study five children had a gastrostomy, which stopped the chest infections and improved weight gain. This study shows that children with merosin deficient congenital muscular dystrophy have difficulties at all stages of feeding that progress with age. Appropriate intervention can improve weight gain and reduce chest infections. The severity of the problem has not been previously appreciated in this disease, and the study shows the importance of considering the nutritional status in any child with a primary muscle disorder.
Effect of Mass Loading on the Performance of a Linear Positioning Task

To determine the effect of mass loading on the performance of a skilled perceptual-motor task, measures of performance (in terms of number of correct responses) were obtained for 40 blindfolded undergraduate subjects on a linear positioning task under conditions of 0-gm. , 909-gm. , 1,818-gm. , 2,727-gm. , and 3,636-gm. manipulandum loads. With respect to the performance measure, the increasing load conditions produced an inverted U-function, with 1,818 gm. resulting in the best performance and 0 gm. producing the poorest performance. It was concluded that skilled perceptual-motor performance can be improved by optimizing the physical characteristics of the manipulandum. The results were interpreted in terms of the augmentation of both attention and kinesthetic information.
Cortisol Awakening Response and Walking Speed in Older People

In older people, less diurnal variability in cortisol levels has been consistently related to worse physical performance, especially to slower walking speed (WS). The cortisol awakening response (CAR) is a discrete component of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis that has been related to several health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and/or worse performance on executive function and memory. The relationship between the CAR and physical performance in older people is poorly understood. In this study, in 86 older people (mean age = 64.42, SD = 3.93), we investigated the relationship between the CAR and WS, a commonly used measure of physical performance in the older population that has also been related to health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and executive function performance in older people. Additionally, we studied whether the relationship between the CAR and WS was independent from cortisol levels on awakening and several possible confounders. Results showed that a CAR of reduced magnitude (measured with 3 samples each day, for two consecutive days, and calculated as the area under the curve with respect to the increase), but not cortisol levels on awakening, was related to slower WS. In addition, this relationship was independent from cortisol levels on awakening. It is possible that a CAR of reduced magnitude would contribute to less diurnal cortisol variability, affecting physical performance. Additionally, it is possible that a CAR of reduced magnitude affects WS through a possible negative effect on executive function, or that the association between the CAR and WS is due to the fact that both are related to similar health problems and to changes in cognitive performance in older people.
Decision-Making and Information Systems Development - A Conceptual Framework

A long-standing anomaly within information systems development (ISD) exists claims made for the benefits of methodology usage and the actuality of practice are poles apart. While both academics and practitioners have been aware of this credibility gap, the information systems (IS) community continue to have difficulty reconciling it. Apparent breakthroughs such as structured and object-oriented methods fall well short of guaranteeing success. It is contended that neither methodological nor amethodical approaches fully explain or express the complexity of systems development and that a new perspective drawing on decision-making theory may yield fresh insights. A framework is developed, combining an analysis of decision-making within the systems development life cycle, key models of decision-making and the actors involved in the process of systems development. It is contented here that ISD is, in essence, a problem-solving and decision-making process and that systems development is neither deterministic or without structure it is creative yet somewhat ordered, improvisational yet explicit, and both rational and political. The paper concludes that a deeper understanding of differing viewpoints on systems development held by actors and other phenomena can be illustrated with the framework.
What causes the age decline in reports of being bullied at school? Towards a developmental analysis of risks of being bullied

Summary School‐based surveys of reports of being bullied reveal a fairly steady downward trend through ages eight to 16 years. Four hypotheses are examined which may explain this age‐related decline: (1) younger children have more children older than them in school, who are in a position to bully them; (2) younger children have not yet been socialized into understanding that you should not bully others; (3) younger children have not yet acquired the social skills and assertiveness skills to deal effectively with bullying incidents and discourage further bullying; and (4) younger children have a different definition of what bullying is, which changes as they get older. We test these hypotheses against existing data, and new data, in Study A from interviews with 48 pupils (aged seven‐eight, nine‐ten, 11‐12 and 13‐14 years); and in Study B from interviews with 159 participants (aged five‐six, nine‐ten, 15‐16 and 18‐29 years). The relative strength of the four hypotheses is evaluated. There is support for bot.
A cost-effective clustered architecture

In current superscalar processors, all floating-point resources are idle during the execution of integer programs. As previous works show, this problem can be alleviated if the floating-point cluster is extended to execute simple integer instructions. With minor hardware modifications to a conventional superscalar processor, the issue width can potentially be doubled without increasing the hardware complexity. In fact, the result is a clustered architecture with two heterogeneous clusters. We propose to extend this architecture with a dynamic steering logic that sends the instructions to either cluster. The performance of clustered architectures depends on the inter-cluster communication overhead and the workload balance. We present a scheme that uses run-time information to optimise the trade-off between these figures. The evaluation shows that this scheme can achieve an average speed-up of 35% over a conventional 8-way issue (4 int+4 fp) machine and that it outperforms the previously proposed one.
Circulating Levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Carotid Atherosclerosis in the Elderly

Background and objective: Increased circulating levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been associated with myocardial infarction. Because myocardial infarction is an atherosclerotic disease, we investigated, in a cross-sectional study, whether POP levels are related to atherosclerosis. Methods: In the population-based Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) study (n = 1,016 participants 70 years of age), the prevalence of carotid artery plaques was determined by ultrasound. The number of carotid arteries with plaques (0, 1, or 2) was recorded. Also, the intima-media thickness (IMT) and gray scale median of the intima-media complex (IM-GSM) were measured. Twenty-three POPs, comprising 16 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 5 pesticides, 1 dioxin, and 1 brominated compound (brominated diphenyl ether congener BDE-47), were analyzed by high-resolution chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry. Results: Seven of the POPs (PCB congeners 153, 156, 157, 170, 180, 206, and 209) were significantly associated with the number of carotid arteries with plaques even after adjusting for multiple risk factors (sex, waist circumference, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum triglycerides, smoking, antihypertensive treatment, and statin use; p = 0.002–0.0001). Highly chlorinated PCBs (congeners 194, 206, and 209) were associated with an echolucent IM-GSM (p < 0.0001 after adjustment), whereas associations between POPs and IMT were modest. Conclusions: Circulating levels of PCBs were associated with atherosclerotic plaques and echogenicity of the intima-media complex independent of cardiovascular risk factors, including lipids. This suggests that POPs may be a risk factor for myocardial infarction, but associations need to be confirmed in prospective studies.
Effect of Loud Noise on Attentional Selectivity

The effects of loud noise are examined by observing its influence upon a combined tracking and multi-source monitoring task. Tracking (the primary task) improves in noise, as does the detection of centrally located signals in the monitoring task. Peripheral signals are detected less often in noise. The data are interpreted in terms of increased selectivity of attention with arousal.
Goal Theorists Should Move on From Performance Goals

The large body of goal theory research that has induced performance goals or included them on forced-choice questionnaires has produced coherent results. However, the few studies available on the matter suggest that students rarely generate performance goals spontaneously, if performance goals are defined in normative terms (i.e., outperforming peers). Furthermore, although students may need something more or different from mastery goals to help them mobilize to succeed in certain achievement situations, concerns about peer comparisons or competition are likely to distract them from a focus on doing what is necessary to get ready for the test. Finally, evidence is emerging that students disposed toward performance-approach goal orientations in the present are at risk for shifting to performance-avoidance goal orientations in the future and that students' responses to performance-approach goal scales are more reflective of their past achievement histories in the domain than of motivational states likely to exert forward effects on subsequent achievement. Therefore, rather than characterize potentially productive nonmastery goals as performance-approach goals (which connotes social comparisons), goal theorists should characterize them as outcome goals or use other terms that emphasize achievement but not competition. In particular, they should avoid suggesting that teachers should encourage performance-approach goals that involve peer comparisons.
Recapitulation of acquired immuno deficiency syndrome associated Kaposi's sarcoma

Acquired immuno deficiency syndrome (AIDS) associated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is one of the clinical forms of KS. KS is caused by human herpes viruses 8 or KS associated herpes virus (KSHV). In India, till now, only 16 cases of AIDS associated KS was reported. Of all the clinical forms of KS, AIDS associated KS is distinct in many ways viz.; cutaneous manifestations commonly affects face and trunk rather than lower limbs, more mucosal lesions, rapidly progressive, and early systemic involvement. When human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is co-infected with KSHV, in addition to the other pathogenic factors for the development of KS, HIV Tat protein promotes the proliferation of cytokine-activated endothelial cells and stimulates KS. Moreover, actions of HIV Tat lead to the aggressive course of KS in patients with AIDS, compared with the more confined behavior of KS in HIV-negative persons. Similarly, latency-associated nuclear antigen of KSHV would enhance HIV replication by activating the long terminal repeats of HIV-1 through its association with Tat. Effective antiretroviral treatment in AIDS associated KS results in reduction of the incidence of AIDS-related KS and regression of the existing lesions. Early diagnosis and treatment of AIDS associated KS would definitely increase the life span and quality of the patients.
AdaptiveScan: The Fast Layer-2 Handoff for WLAN

Recently, handoff is a critical issue for stations in IEEE 802.11-based wireless networks. In order to provide VoIP (Voice over IP) and real-time streaming applications for stations, handoff mechanism must be provided for reducing latency and seamless communication. However, the IEEE802.11 standards handoff is not appropriate to supply their QoS, because it is based on a full-scanning approach. Full-scanning spends too much time searching Access Point (AP). Therefore, the various pre-scan handoff protocols such as Sync Scan and Deuce Scan have been proposed. They perform scanning to find nearby APs before station is out of contact with AP, but they have much overhead for pre-scanning. Our handoff mechanism reduces the delay and overhead associated with link layer handoff by periodically scanning the channel groups. We prove that our per-scanning mechanism supports a faster handoff and has a lower overhead compared to the conventional schemes.
EVALUATION OF A PARENT IMPLEMENTED INTERVENTION FOR FOOD SELECTIVITY IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

Food selectivity is a common problem in many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While research into this area is beginning to develop, there are currently few studies investigating the use of parent-implemented interventions within this population. The present study aimed to teach parents to implement multi-component behavioural interventions at home to ameliorate the food selectivity of their children. The study also aimed to show that these interventions could increase children’s preference for previously nonpreferred foods. Five children and their parents participated. The interventions delivered to the children were tailored to meet their needs and to fit within the context of their families. Each of these interventions was composed of antecedent, positive reinforcement and escape extinction strategies. Parents recorded their children’s food acceptance and disruptive behaviours during each intervention session. In addition, preference assessments were conducted in order to track changes in the children’s preferences for the target foods. The results showed that all of the parents were able to introduce at least one new food to their children’s diets during the intervention. Further, four of the five children showed an improvement in their preference for the targeted foods. These results were maintained at follow-up, although two of the children had only maintained some of the foods that had been introduced. All of the parents reported that their children consumed more foods at follow-up than they had during baseline and indicated that they thought the interventions had been effective. These results indicate that parents are able to implement multi-component behavioural interventions to increase the range of foods in their children’s diets and improve their children’s preference for these foods.
STUDIES ON IMMUNE HUMAN HEMOLYSIS

The Donath-Landsteiner reaction was studied using low and high titer antisera and purified antibody, normal and PNH erythrocytes, and human serum complement. The requirement for complement in both the cold and warm phases of the reaction depended upon the level of antibody used and the sensitivity of the cells to hemolytic antibodies. Complement was not necessary in the cold phase using PNH cells and a potent source of antibody, but complement was required to be present at some stage if hemolysis were to occur. Optimal conditions for the cold phase were at 1°C. for 30 minutes at pH 7.4. Ca++ ions were required. Hemolysis in the warm phase occurred within one minute, was optimal at 32°C. , and required Mg++. The relation of these observations to previous reports is discussed with respect to discrepant observations on the nature of the Donath-Landsteiner reaction.