Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A comparison of diagnoses obtained from in-person and telephone interviews, using the semi-structured assessment for the genetics of alcoholism (SSAGA).

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses when the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA-II) interview was administered in person with the prevalence when the SSAGA-II was conducted by telephone. METHOD As part of the Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcoholism, SSAGAs were administered either by telephone (n = 1,294) or in person (n = 1,484) to adult relatives of probands (42.3% male). The two modes of interview were compared with respect to reported lifetime prevalence of (1) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) alcohol dependence; (2) other DSM-IV substance-dependence diagnoses (nicotine, marijuana, cocaine, opioid, stimulant, sedative); and (3) DSM-IV nonsubstance diagnoses (i.e., antisocial personality disorder, major depressive disorder, mania, panic, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder). These analyses took into account the potential confounds of gender, age, race, education, income, marital status, and potential within-family correlation. RESULTS Diagnostic prevalence rates for alcohol dependence and major depressive disorder were lower for telephone interviews than for in-person interviews (7% and 2%, respectively); there were no other significant differences. CONCLUSIONS When circumstances dictate (e.g., subject out of area, subject preference), telephone administration of the SSAGA should be considered.
Fundamentalists clashing over the book: a study of order-driven stock markets

Abstract Agent-based models of market dynamics must strike a compromise between the structural assumptions that represent the trading mechanism and the behavioural assumptions that describe the rules by which traders make their decisions. We present a structurally detailed model of an order-driven stock market and show that a minimal set of behavioural assumptions suffices to generate a leptokurtic distribution of short-term log-returns. This result supports the conjecture that the emergence of some statistical properties of financial time series is due to the microstructure of stock markets.
Legal professionals’ knowledge and experience of autistic adults in the family justice system

Abstract Access to justice is a key theme in the family justice system, especially for those with particular vulnerabilities. Autism, a development condition characterised by difficulties in social communication and interaction, and the presence of rigid, repetitive behaviours, presents particular challenges in this area. This paper reports the findings of a mixed-methods study with legal professionals working in the family justice system, asking about their knowledge of autism, their perceived self-efficacy when working with autistic clients, and their experience of cases involving autistic litigants. The study reports high levels of knowledge, but low levels of confidence, by legal professionals (N = 204), and addresses the experiences of particular cases in follow-up discussions (N = 10). The paper concludes by making a series of recommendations for legal professionals to assist autistic people to engage fully in family court proceedings.
Stereo vision-based subpixel level free space boundary detection using modified u-disparity and preview dynamic programming

As free space boundary defined as the boundary between the closest obstacles and a road surface provides information about drivable space and obstacles, it has been one of the most important research topics in the automotive field. This paper proposes a method enhancing the accuracy of u-disparity-based free space boundary estimation to the subpixel level. The conventional method detects peak series by exploiting dynamic programming in u-disparity made by accumulating disparity maps depending on the u coordinate. It assumes that the bigger accumulation value of the u-disparity of a position and the smaller vertical coordinate change between the position and its previous column, the higher is the possibility that the position belongs to peak series. However, as the conventional method considers only vertical coordinate change with respect to the previous column, it has a problem that even a straight line will be penalized if it is not seen to be horizontal. To address this problem, this paper proposes preview dynamic programming, which is modified to consider the slope change with the previous and next column. Additionally, to solve the problem that a slope smaller than 45 cannot be represented by integer coordinates, this paper proposes modified u-disparity, which uses average coordinates weighted by u-disparity values within a fixed size window. Through qualitative evaluations with an open dataset, it is confirmed that the proposed method significantly mitigates the quantization noise of free space boundary estimated by the conventional method.
A Study on Speaker Normalized MLP Features in LVCSR

Different normalization methods are applied in recent Large Vocabulary Continuous Speech Recognition Systems (LVCSR) to reduce the influence of speaker variability on the acoustic models. In this paper we investigate the use of Vocal Tract Length Normalization (VTLN) and Speaker Adaptive Training (SAT) in Multi Layer Perceptron (MLP) feature extraction on an English task. We achieve significant improvements by each normalization method and we gain further by stacking the normalizations. Studying features transformed by Constrained Maximum Likelihood Linear Regression (CMLLR) based SAT as possible input for MLP, further experiments show that MLP could not consistently take advantage of SAT as it does in case of VTLN. Index Terms: GMM-HMM, VTLN, SAT, CMLLR, LVCSR, MLP, Dempster-Shafer
Use of Lactobacillus plantarum Strains as a Bio-Control Strategy against Food-Borne Pathogenic Microorganisms

Lactobacillus plantarum is one of the most versatile species extensively used in the food industry both as microbial starters and probiotic microorganisms. Several L. plantarum strains have been shown to produce different antimicrobial compounds such as organic acids, hydrogen peroxide, diacetyl, and also bacteriocins and antimicrobial peptides, both denoted by a variable spectrum of action. In recent decades, the selection of microbial molecules and/or bacterial strains able to produce antagonistic molecules to be used as antimicrobials and preservatives has been attracting scientific interest, in order to eliminate or reduce chemical additives, because of the growing attention of consumers for healthy and natural food products. The aim of this work was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of several food-isolated L. plantarum strains, analyzed against the pathogenic bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Enteritidis, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus. Antagonistic activity was assayed by agar spot test and revealed that strain L. plantarum 105 had the strongest ability to contrast the growth of L. monocytogenes, while strains L. plantarum 106 and 107 were the most active microorganisms against E. coli O157:H7. The antimicrobial ability was also screened by well diffusion assay and broth micro-dilution method using cell-free supernatants (CFS) from each Lactobacillus strain. Moreover, the chemical nature of the molecules released in the CFS, and possibly underlying the antagonistic activity, was preliminary characterized by exposure to different constraints such as pH neutralization, heating, catalase, and proteinase treatments. Our data suggest that the ability of L. plantarum cultures to contrast pathogens growth in vitro depends, at least in part, on a pH-lowering effect of supernatants and/or on the presence of organic acids. Cluster analysis was performed in order to group L. plantarum strains according to their antimicrobial effect. This study emphasizes the tempting use of the tested L. plantarum strains and/or their CFS as antimicrobial agents against food-borne pathogens.
Siegel on Critical Thinking

Although the practice of critical thinking goes back at least to the time of Socrates, and the theory of it at least to 1941 with the publication of Edward hl. Glaser’s An Experitnetit it1 the Developnrent of Critical Thitikitig, the phenomenon has now acquired some of the trappings of a ‘movement’, and in fact some of its leading exponents do not hesitate to speak of it by using this label (Paul 1985). Interest in critical thinking has always had, and continues to have a strong pedagogical orientation (Ennis 1962, 1980,1981; McPeck 1981; Paul 1982, 1984, 1985), but recently the phenomenon has begun to receive epistemological and methodological scrutiny. An excellent example of this relatively novel approach to critical thinking is Harvey Siegel’s book Educating Reason: Rntioriality, Critical Thiiikitig, and Education (1988). * This work moves the discussion of critical thinking to a qualitatively higher level of sophistication, and it does so with intelligence, breadth of preparation, and a touch of inspired zeal. We therefore have two sets of reasons for paying attention to this work. The focus of Siegel’s book is the notion of critical thinking, which gives it the following structure. He begins with an account and constructive criticism of three conceptions of critical thinking, those of Robert Ennis, Richard Paul, and John McPeck. These lead to Siegel’s own account, which he calls the ‘reasons’ conception, and which he articulates primarily in terms of reason assessment and the practice of the critical spirit. He then gives several arguments to justify the pedagogic value of critical thinking so conceived: one involves respect of students as persons, another individual autonomy, a third one the Western cultural tradition, and a fourth one democratic institutions. In what are perhaps the most cogent parts of the book, he then answers two criticisms: the ideology objection according to which thejustification of critical thinking, like everything else, presupposes a prior ideological or political commitment; and the indoctrination objection which holds that education for critical thinking is impossible because all education is indoctrination. Siegel then applies his conception to two issues. One is the problem of minimum competency testing and the relativity of standards; he seems to be against minimum competency testing, but I found the details of his argument hard to follow. The other issue is science education, in regard to which he criticises the anti-critical ideal which some attribute to or derive from the works ofThomas Kuhn; this is interesting and important, so that Siegel’s line of argument deserve a more extended summary. Siegel gives an account of Kuhn’s view of science as being anti-critical through and through. ‘Normal science’ is, of course, easily seen as anti-critical, along lines that were indicated long ago by Popper and his followers (Popper 1970; Watkins 1970). However, Siegel develops the anti-critical interpretation of Kuhnian science in other ways as well: revolutionary science is no less anti-
Auditory alarms, medical standards, and urgency

A newly-released international standard for medical equipment alarms, IEC 60601-1-8, incorporates a long-standing suggestion that alarms should indicate their source through distinctive melodies. In this paper we examine this suggestion. We describe the proposed alarms, outline the history of the idea, and review recent research on the effectiveness of the alarms, some of it performed in our laboratory. Finally we discuss the concept of “urgency mapping” for alarms, noting where it may and may not be effective.
Beyond Incarceration: Criminal Justice Contact and Mental Health

A growing literature documents deleterious consequences of incarceration for mental health. Although salient, incarceration is only one form of criminal justice contact and, accordingly, focusing on incarceration may mask the extent to which the criminal justice system influences mental health. Using insights from the stress process paradigm, along with nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, we examine criminal justice contact—defined as arrest, conviction, and incarceration—and mental health. First, fixed-effects models, which adjust for stable unobserved and time-varying observed characteristics, show that arrest is deleteriously associated with mental health, and arrest accounts for nearly half of the association between incarceration and poor mental health, although certain types of incarceration appear more consequential than others. Second, the associations are similar across race and ethnicity; this, combined with racial/ethnic disparities in contact, indicates that criminal justice interactions exacerbate minority health inequalities. Third, the associations between criminal justice contact, especially arrest and incarceration, and mental health are particularly large among respondents residing in contextually disadvantaged areas during adolescence. Taken together, the results suggest that the consequences of criminal justice contact for mental health have a far greater reach than previously considered.
Load and Resistance Factor Design ( LRFD ) for Deep Foundations

An ongoing project supported by the USA National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) under the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academy of Science (NAS), is aimed at rewriting AASHTO Deep Foundation Specifications. The AASHTO specifications are traditionally observed on all federally aided projects and generally viewed as a National code of the US Highway practice, hence influences the construction of all the deep foundations of highway bridges throughout the USA. Since 1993 (20 edition) the existing AASHTO code, similarly to others worldwide, is based on Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) principles. The current attempt is the first, however, to use reliability based calibration utilizing databases. In the present phase, the developed databases relate to axial capacity of single driven piles and drilled shafts only. Databases containing 527 and 129 case histories were compiled at the university of Florida for static evaluation of driven piles and drilled shafts respectively. For dynamic evaluation of driven piles, a database (PD/LT2000) containing information related to 210 piles and 403 dynamic measurements was compiled at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. A review of design methodologies, LRFD principles, and deep foundation codes is briefly discussed. A summary of the large databases is presented, detailing the performance of the various static and dynamic methods when compared to static load testing to failure. The parameters that control the accuracy of the predictions are analyzed. Statistical analyses are then utilized for the development of resistance factors to be used in the new specifications (correct for the present stage). Recommended initial parameters are presented and discussed. Included are discussions regarding target reliability and the need for knowledge based parameters accounting for subsurface variability, quality of soil parameters estimation, and previous experience as well as amount and type of testing during construction.
The origin of the density distribution of disc galaxies: a new problem for the standard model of disc formation

We present new models for the formation of disc galaxies that improve upon previous models by following the detailed accretion and cooling of the baryonic mass, and by using realistic distributions of specific angular momentum. Under the assumption of detailed angular momentum conservation, the discs that form have density distributions that are more centrally concentrated than an exponential. We examine the influence of star formation, bulge formation, and feedback on the outcome of the surface brightness distributions of the stars. Low angular momentum haloes yield disc galaxies with a significant bulge component and with a stellar disc that is close to exponential, in good agreement with observations. High angular momentum haloes, on the other hand, produce stellar discs that are much more concentrated than an exponential, in clear conflict with observations. At large radii, the models reveal distinct truncation radii in both the stars and the cold gas. The stellar truncation radii result from our implementation of star formation threshold densities, and are in excellent agreement with observations. The truncation radii in the density distribution of the cold gas reflect the maximum specific angular momentum of the gas that has cooled. We find that these truncation radii occur at H i surface densities of roughly 1 M⊙ pc−2, in conflict with observations. We examine various modifications to our models, including feedback, viscosity, and dark matter haloes with constant-density cores, but show that the models consistently fail to produce bulge less discs with exponential surface brightness profiles. This signals a new problem for the standard model of disc formation: if the baryonic component of the protogalaxies out of which disc galaxies form has the same angular momentum distribution as the dark matter, discs are too compact.
Results and safety profile of trainee cataract surgeons in a community setting in East Africa

Purpose: To evaluate the results and safety profile of assistant medical officer ophthalmologists (AMO-O) performing cataract surgery in the last stage of their surgical training, before their appointment to local communities. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the records of patients who underwent cataract surgery by AMO-Os at Dar es Salaam, Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation for Tanzania Disability Hospital between September 2008 and June 2011. Surgical options were either extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) or manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS), both with polymethylmethacrylate intraocular lens implantation. Results: Four hundred and fourteen patients were included in the study. Two hundred and twenty-five (54%) underwent ECCE and 189 had MSICS. Mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) improved from 2.4 ± 0.6 preoperatively to 1.3 ± 0.8 1 week postoperatively (t-test, P < 0.001) and to 1.1 ± 0.7 3 months postoperatively (t-test, P < 0.001). Mean logMAR best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.7 ± 0.5 1 week postoperatively and 0.6 ± 0.5 3 months postoperatively. There was no significant difference in mean logMAR UCVA (P = 0.7) and BCVA (P = 0.7) postoperatively between ECCE and MSICS. 89.5% achieved BCVA better than 6/60 and 57.3% better than 6/18 with a follow-up of 3 months. Posterior capsule rupture and/or vitreous loss occurred in 34/414 patients (8.2%) and was more frequent (P = 0.047) in patients undergoing ECCE (10.2%) compared with MSICS (5.3%). Conclusion: AMO-O cataract surgeons at the end of their training offer significant improvement in the visual acuity of their patients. Continuous monitoring of outcomes will guide further improvements in surgical skills and minimize complications.
Marital disruption and intergenerational relations among older Finns

ABSTRACT In this paper, we investigate whether the investments of divorced, re-married or widowed grandparents differ from those of never-divorced grandparents and whether the effect of marital status is different between grandfathers and grandmothers. Grandparental investment is measured by childcare, contact frequencies, practical help and the financial support grandparents give to their offspring. The investigation is based on the Generational Transmissions in Finland 2012 survey, which includes 1441 grandparents aged between 62 and 67 years. We found that among married (never-divorced), divorced and re-married grandparents, the grandmothers were significantly more involved than grandfathers, except in the case of practical help provided to children, which married (never-divorced) grandfathers provided more than grandmothers. Both divorce and remarriage were associated with reduced child care help and reduced contacts between grandfathers and their grandchildren. In addition, re-married and widowed grandfathers provided significantly less practical and financial help to their offspring compared to their never-divorced counterparts. Among grandmothers, remarriage was associated with reduced child care help and contact, and divorce with reduced financial help when compared to never-divorced grandmothers. Finally, the timing of divorce had a very limited effect on grandparental investments.
Time to Build and Fluctuations in Bulk Shipping

This paper explores the nature of fluctuations in world bulk shipping by quantifying the impact of time to build and demand uncertainty on investment and prices. We examine the impact of both construction lags and their lengthening in periods of high investment activity, by constructing a dynamic model of ship entry and exit. A rich dataset of secondhand ship sales allows for a new estimation strategy: resale prices provide direct information on value functions and allow their nonparametric estimation. We find that moving from time-varying to constant to no time to build reduces prices, while significantly increasing both the level and volatility of investment.
Effects of organic and inorganic sulphur on the availability of dietary copper to sheep

1. The effects of dietary sulphur on the availability of dietary copper were estimated by means of a repletion technique. The responses of initially hypocupraemic ewes to repletion with Cu-supplemented diets containing supplements of organic S, as methionine, and of inorganic S, as Na2SO4, were compared with those obtained with a diet low in S. 2. The two forms of S had similar effects. Responses in plasma Cu were reduced by 39–56 % when S was increased from 1.0 to 3.0 or 4.0 g/kg diet and the availability of dietary Cu was estimated to have decreased from 0.062 to 0.041. Both S supplements produced marked increases in rumen sulphide concentrations. 3. Dietary S had no effect on plasma Cu when added to the low-Cu diet of hypocupraemic ewes being repleted by a continuous intravenous infusion of Cu. 4. The addition of CuS, providing 5 mg Cu/kg, to the diet of hypocupraemic ewes produced no response in plasma Cu or haemoglobin. The same amount of Cu, given as CuSO4, increased plasma Cu by 0.46±0.15 mg/l and haemoglobin by 33±3.8 g/l after 36 d: the subsequent replacement of CuSO4 by CuS induced hypocupraemia again but had no effect on haemoglobin. 5. It was concluded that variations in dietary S within the normal range for herbage exert an independent effect on Cu metabolism, possibly through the formation of insoluble CuS at sites beyond the rumen.