Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in prisoners

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the prevalence of and the factors associated with latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in prisoners in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional cohort study conducted in two prisons in Minas Gerais. Tuberculin skin tests were performed in the individuals who agreed to participate in the study. Results: A total of 1,120 individuals were selected for inclusion in this study. The prevalence of LTBI was 25.2%. In the multivariate analysis, LTBI was associated with self-reported contact with active tuberculosis patients within prisons (adjusted OR = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.05-2.18) and use of inhaled drugs (adjusted OR = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.03-2.13). Respiratory symptoms were identified in 131 (11.7%) of the participants. Serological testing for HIV was performed in 940 (83.9%) of the participants, and the result was positive in 5 (0.5%). Two cases of active tuberculosis were identified during the study period. Conclusions: Within the prisons under study, the prevalence of LTBI was high. In addition, LTBI was associated with self-reported contact with active tuberculosis patients and with the use of inhaled drugs. Our findings demonstrate that it is necessary to improve the conditions in prisons, as well as to introduce strategies, such as chest X-ray screening, in order to detect tuberculosis cases and, consequently, reduce M. tuberculosis infection within the prison system.
PROGRAMA DE ATENÇÃO AO ALUNO PRECOCE COM COMPORTAMENTOS DE SUPERDOTAÇÃO: UMA PROPOSTA DE ENRIQUECIMENTO EXTRACURRICULAR

Resumo Dentre os alunos da Educacao Especial encontram-se aqueles com precocidade de comportamentos de superdotacao, os quais possuem necessidades educacionais especiais que requer atencao especializada nos sistemas de ensino. No entanto, a identificacao e o oferecimento de atencao adequada as peculiaridades desses educandos ainda e incipiente no sistema educacional brasileiro. Quando um aluno se destaca pelo bom desempenho, este passa a ser visto como um otimo aluno, no entanto, tal reconhecimento nao acarreta oportunidades de desenvolvimento das suas potencialidades. Pesquisas evidenciaram a pouca atencao para com esses alunos e a precariedade dos servicos especializados destinados a eles. E importante estarmos atentos aos perigos que emanam da negligencia em relacao as peculiaridades desses alunos, uma vez que a nao identificacao e falta de atencao adequada traz consequencias negativas a eles. Desta maneira, a partir das preocupacoes com a educacao desses alunos surgiu o Programa de Atencao a alunos Precoces com Comportamentos de Superdotacao (PAPCS), um projeto de extensao e pesquisa que articula o ensino, a pesquisa e a extensao com o intuito de favorecer a comunidade academica e as escolas de educacao basica. Os trabalhos desenvolvidos no PAPCS seguem os pressupostos teoricos de Joseph S Renzulli e Lev S Vygotsky e tem por objetivo identificar, alunos precoces com comportamentos de superdotacao da educacao basica, avaliar e oferecer: atencao educacional especializada; orientar e enriquecer os familiares, e criar um espaco para estagiarios e bolsistas de Graduacao e Pos-Graduacao (Mestrado e Doutorado) cujos projetos pesquisam a Precocidade e as Altas Habilidades/Superdotacao, alem de capacitar professores.
The test for suppressed dynamical friction in a constant density core of dwarf galaxies

The dynamical friction problem is a long-standing dilemma about globular clusters (hereafter GCs) belonging to dwarf galaxies. GCs are strongly affected by dynamical friction in dwarf galaxies, and are presumed to fall into the galactic centre. But, GCs do exist in dwarf galaxies generally. A solution of the problem has been proposed. If dwarf galaxies have a core dark matter halo which has constant density distribution in its centre, the effect of dynamical friction will be weakened considerably, and GCs should be able to survive beyond the age of the Universe. Then, the solution argued that, in a cored dark halo, interaction between the halo and the GC constructs a new equilibrium state, in which a part of the halo rotates along with the GC (corotating state). The equilibrium state can suppress the dynamical friction in the core region. In this study, I tested whether the solution is reasonable and reconsidered why a constant density, core halo suppresses dynamical friction, by means of N-body simulations. As a result, I conclude that the true mechanism of suppressed dynamical friction is not the corotating state, although a core halo can actually suppress dynamical friction on GCs significantly.
Botryosphaeriaceae associated with Pterocarpus angolensis (kiaat) in South Africa

There have been several recent reports of Pterocarpus angolensis (kiaat) trees dying in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, where this tree is used in traditional medicine and is a valuable source of timber for woodcarving and furniture. A survey of material from diseased P. angolensis trees in South Africa yielded isolates of the Botryosphaeriaceae, an important fungal family known to cause a number of tree diseases. The aim of this study was to identify these Botryosphaeriaceae and to determine their pathogenicity to P. angolensis with branch inoculations. Seven species of the Botryosphaeriaceae were identified based on a combination of morphological characteristics and sequences from the ITS and EF-1α gene regions. Four of these represent undescribed taxa for which the names Pseudofusicoccum violaceum, P. olivaceum, Diplodia alatafructa and Fusicoccum atrovirens are provided. The remaining three species collected include Lasiodiplodia theobromae, L. pseudotheobromae and L. crassispora. Inoculation trials on tree branches showed that L. pseudotheobromae and one isolate of D. alatafructa differed significantly from control inoculations. The high levels of virulence and common occurrence of L. pseudotheobromae suggest that this species could play a role in tree dieback and death.
Performance analysis of objective function MRHOF and OF0 in routing protocol RPL IPV6 over low power wireless personal area networks (6LoWPAN)

6LoWPAN is one of the implementations of WSN that using IPv6 as sensor addressing. 6LoWPAN is categorized in the new technology and still being developed. This causes issues about the networks performance to create the communication path and collecting data. Routing Protocol for Low-power-loosy (RPL) is a routing protocol used in 6LoWPAN. In RPL, there are two kind of objective functions development. Objective function is path selection mechanism when formation of the networks. This research is focus on performance analysis in two objective functions RPL that are Minimum Rank with Hysteresis Objective Function (MRHOF) and Objective Function Zero (OFO). This research observed using COOJA as a WSN simulator. The parameter that observed in this research are: networks convergence time, power consumption, ETX, hop, Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), latency, PDR in mobility node. Based on the simulation we concluded that MRHOF give better performance than OF0 in terms of network quality. The implementation of MRHOF is suitable for use in sensor network that require data delivery in the reliable network. While OF0 is suitable for use in sensor network that require fast formation network link and low power consumption.
On singular values of matrices with independent rows

We present deviation inequalities of random operators of the form 1 N ∑N i=1 Xi ⊗ Xi from the average operator E(X ⊗ X), where Xi are independent random vectors distributed as X, which is a random vector in R or in `2. We use these inequalities to estimate the singular values of random matrices with independent rows (without assuming that the entries are independent).
Optimal principal component analysis in distributed and streaming models

This paper studies the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) problem in the distributed and streaming models of computation. Given a matrix A ∈ Rm×n, a rank parameter k<rank(A), and an accuracy parameter 0<ε<1, we want to output an m×k orthonormal matrix U for which ||A-UUTA||2F≤(1+ε)||A-Ak||2F where Ak∈Rm×n is the best rank-k approximation to A. Our contributions are summarized as follows: 1. In the arbitrary partition distributed model of Kannan et al. (COLT 2014), each of s machines holds a matrix Ai and A=ΣAi. Each machine should output U. Kannan et al. achieve O(skm/ε)+poly(sk/ε) words (of O(log(nm)) bits) communication. We obtain the improved bound of O(skm)+poly(sk/ε) words, and show an optimal (up to low order terms) Ω(skm) lower bound. This resolves an open question in the literature. A poly(ε-1) dependence is known to be required, but we separate this dependence from m. 2. In a more specific distributed model where each server receives a subset of columns of A, we bypass the above lower bound when A is φ-sparse in each column. Here we obtain an O(skφ/ε)+poly(sk/ε) word protocol. Our communication is independent of the matrix dimensions, and achieves the guarantee that each server, in addition to outputting U, outputs a subset of O(k/ε) columns of A containing a U in its span (that is, for the first time, we solve distributed column subset selection). Additionally, we show a matching Ω(skφ/ε) lower bound for distributed column subset selection. Achieving our communication bound when A is sparse in general but not sparse in each column, is impossible. 3. In the streaming model of computation, in which the columns of the matrix A arrive one at a time, an algorithm of Liberty (KDD, 2013) with an improved analysis by Ghashami and Phillips (SODA, 2014) achieves O(km/ε) "real numbers" space complexity. We improve this result, since our one-pass streaming PCA algorithm achieves an O(km/ε)+poly(k/ε) word space upper bound. This almost matches a known Ω(km/ε) bit lower bound of Woodruff (NIPS, 2014). We show that with two passes over the columns of A one can achieve an O(km)+poly(k/ε) word space upper bound; another lower bound of Woodruff (NIPS, 2014) shows that this is optimal for any constant number of passes (up to the poly(k/ε) term and the distinction between words versus bits). 4. Finally, in turnstile streams, in which we receive entries of A one at a time in an arbitrary order, we describe an algorithm with O((m+n)kε-1) words of space. This improves the O((m+n)ε-2)kε-2) upper bound of Clarkson and Woodruff (STOC 2009), and matches their Ω((m+n)kε-1) word lower bound. Notably, our results do not depend on the condition number or any singular value gaps of A.
Amortised Resource Analysis with Separation Logic

Type-based amortised resource analysis following Hofmann and Jost—where resources are associated with individual elements of data structures and doled out to the programmer under a linear typing discipline—have been successful in providing concrete resource bounds for functional programs, with good support for inference. In this work we translate the idea of amortised resource analysis to imperative languages by embedding a logic of resources, based on Bunched Implications, within Separation Logic. The Separation Logic component allows us to assert the presence and shape of mutable data structures on the heap, while the resource component allows us to state the resources associated with each member of the structure. We present the logic on a small imperative language with procedures and mutable heap, based on Java bytecode. We have formalised the logic within the Coq proof assistant and extracted a certified verification condition generator. We demonstrate the logic on some examples, including proving termination of in-place list reversal on lists with cyclic tails.
Mothers’ ideals and experiences of raising children in inner and outer suburban Melbourne, Australia

ABSTRACT Parents’ perceptions of their neighbourhoods are important for child health outcomes. This study compared views among mothers in inner versus outer suburbs of Melbourne, Australia using a mixed methods approach. Mothers of preschool-aged children were recruited via playgroups, mother’s groups and preschools and interviewed face-to-face regarding their local area as a good place to raise a family, with a second open-ended interview focussing on mothers’ ideals and experiences of raising children in their current location. Findings demonstrated that mothers had different ideals for, and experiences of, raising their children in their neighbourhoods. Inner suburban mothers valued a manageable work/family balance and access to public transport over the size of their homes. However, access to childcare, secondary schooling and heavy traffic were issues, with the latter two being reasons for moving from the municipality. In contrast, outer suburban mothers preferred a larger home in neighbourhoods that they perceived as low crime, over accessibility to work. Access to a car and activities for their children were also important. Findings suggest no ‘one size fits all’ in respect to what features mothers expect from a good place to raise a family, or how they experience these features. This has implications for service delivery and social planning of suburbs.
How to use physical parameters coming from the haptic device itself to enhance the evaluation of haptic benefits in user interface

Experiments are an important part of research in virtual environments for evaluating the benefits and the success of developed applications, systems or devices. In the context of virtual reality using haptic interaction tools, we want to describe a methodology, based on physical parameters coming from the haptic device itself, to evaluate haptic benefits for user interfaces. By giving a framework for active haptic evaluation using parameters coming directly from the haptic device it would be easier to obtain accurate results and validations of haptic user interfaces or of experiments including haptic devices, complementing other techniques, such as surveys, or other devices such as position sensors.
Dupuytren's Disease: Review of the Current Literature

Dupuytren’s disease is one of the most common condition seen by hand surgeons. It is not only prevalent but can also be a most debilitating condition resulting in significant loss of function of the fingers involved. The cause of this disease, however still remains largely unknown although some recent evidence suggests a stem cell etiology. This review article summarizes the current known knowledge of Dupuytren’s as well as the clinical findings, investigations and treatments available.
The influence of computer self-efficacy and outcome expectations on computer training effectiveness

Computer training has become one of the most important issues in management of information systems (MIS). Studies have consistently shown that computer training is positively related to systems acceptance and utilization, effective use of computers and computing resources, and the overall success of information systems. Accordingly, providing end-users with effective computer training is essential to achieve the benefits associated with computers. Over the past few years, computer training has attracted considerable attention and was the subject of several research studies. However, most previous studies have focused on examining the influence of training approach and training content on the effectiveness of computer training and little attention was given to the role or individual characteristics. As such, this study developed a model of performance in computer training to explain the impact of individual characteristics on computer training performance. The proposed model incorporated concepts from social cognitive theory as well as findings from past and contemporary research. In a laboratory setting, the influence of computer self-efficacy and outcome expectations on performance in computer training were examined. In addition, the impact of attitudes toward computers, prior experience with computers, and locus of control on perceptions of computer self-efficacy and outcome expectation was also investigated. Data collected from 173 subjects was used to test the proposed hypotheses and examine the relationships between the model's constructs. Analysis of results revealed substantial support for the research model and found a number of significant relationships between the examined variables. In particular, the results demonstrated that perceptions of computer self-efficacy and outcome expectations had a positive relationship with performance in computer training. Furthermore, perceptions of computer self-efficacy were found to be related to prior experience with computers and attitudes toward computers. However, the results indicated the only locus of control had a significant relationship with outcome expectations. The results provide various practical implications as well as several opportunities for future research.
Using Emotional Markers' Frequencies in Stock Market ARMAX-GARCH Model

We analyze the possibility of improving the prediction of stock market indicators by adding information about public mood expressed in Twitter posts. To estimate public mood, we analysed frequencies of 175 emotional markers - words, emoticons, acronyms and abbreviations - in more than two billion tweets collected via Twitter API over a period from 13.02. 2013 to 22.04. 2015. We explored the Granger causality relations between stock market returns of S&P500, DJIA, Apple, Google, Facebook, P zer and Exxon Mobil and emotional markers frequencies. We found that 17 emotional markers out of 175 are Granger causes of changes in returns without reverse e ect. These frequencies were tested by Bayes Information Criteria to determine whether they provide additional information to the baseline ARMAX-GARCH model. We found Twitter data can provide additional information and managed to improve prediction as compared to a model based solely on emotional markers.
Comparing classification algorithm for mouse dynamics based user identification

Mouse dynamics is the process of identifying individual users based on their mouse operating behaviors. Many classification algorithms have been proposed for checking users' identity, thus it is natural to ask how well each classifier performs and how various classifiers compare to each other (e.g., to identify promising research directions). Unfortunately, we cannot conduct a valid comparison of classifiers based on the results in the literature because of inconsistent datasets, experimental conditions and methodologies across studies. The objective of this study is to obtain a dataset, to develop an objective and repeatable evaluation procedure, and to measure the performance of a range of classifiers on an equal basis. Using data from 26 subjects conducting a fixed mouse-operation task 300 times each, we implemented and evaluated twelve classifiers from the mouse-dynamics and pattern-recognition literature for a user identification task. The four top-performing classifiers achieve false-negative identification rates between 17.31% and 23.72%. The results, along with the evaluation methodology, constitute a benchmark for comparing classifiers and measuring progress for the user identification problem.
Automating Architectural View Integration in UML

Architecting software systems requires more than what generalpurpose software development models can provide. Architecting is about modeling, solving and interpreting, and in doing so, placing a major emphasis on mismatch identification and reconciliation within and among architectural views (such as diagrams). The emergence of the Unified Modeling Language (UML), which has become a de-facto standard for OO software development, is no exception to that. This work describes causes of architectural mismatches for UML views and shows how integration techniques can be applied to identify and resolve them in a more automated fashion.
Addressing Adult Innumeracy via an Interventionist Approach to Mathematics Aversion in Pre-Service Primary Teachers.

Student primary teachers tend to have pervasive and frequently severe negative attitudes, low mathematics self-efficacy beliefs, and anxiety of mathematics that are more extreme than those of any other undergraduate student group. If unaddressed, such mathematics aversion will be carried into primary school classrooms, presenting a tangible and substantial risk to the mathematics learning experiences of generations of primary pupils and perpetuating the relationship between adult innumeracy and mathematics anxiety. Here, the role of primary teachers is considered via a specific focus on the mathematics attitudes and competencies of pre-service (student) primary teachers commencing their first year of Bachelor of Education (Junior Primary and Primary) degree studies. This involves, firstly, a review of an earlier study using the IMAES instrument developed by the author, which identifies the students’ perceptions of mathematics, including their own capabilities; and secondly, analysis of the results of a short but comprehensive skills test administered to a different (but comparable) cohort so as to identify facets of the students’ understanding of, and capacity to carry out, fundamental mathematical tasks. Finally, this latter cohort’s attitudes towards, and perceptions of, mathematics in the context of their experiences are examined from a qualitative perspective via an open questionnaire. The results provide evidence that the impact of mathematics aversion in primary teachers may be reduced considerably by appropriate interventions during pre-service teacher preparation programs.
Identification of an Intersubunit Cross-Link between Substituted Cysteine Residues Located in the Putative ATP Binding Site of the P2X1 Receptor

P2X receptors are ATP-gated nonselective cation channels. Functional receptors are assembled as homotrimers or heterotrimers of seven cloned subunits. Each subunit contains two transmembrane domains linked by a large extracellular loop that is required for agonist binding. So far, there is no direct evidence indicating whether the agonist binding site is formed within one subunit or at the interface of two neighboring subunits. Here we used a disulfide cross-linking approach to identify pairs of residues that are in close proximity within the ATP binding site of the P2X1 homotrimer. Eight amino acid residues that have previously been shown to be essential for high ATP potency (K68, K70, F185, K190, F291, R292, R305, and K309) were substituted by cysteine residues, and the respective mutant subunits were pairwise expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Nonreducing SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified receptors revealed a spontaneous and specific dimer formation between the K68C and F291C mutants. An almost complete cross-link into trimers was achieved with the K68C/F291C double mutant, consistent with the formation of intersubunit disulfide bridges. In support of this interpretation, two-electrode voltage-clamp analysis of the K68C/F291C mutations introduced into a nondesensitizing P2X2–1 chimera showed only small ATP-activated currents that, however, increased ∼60-fold after extracellular application of the reducing agent dithiothreitol. In addition, we show that a K68C/K309C double mutant is nonfunctional and can be functionally rescued by coexpression with nonmutated subunits. Our data are consistent with loops from neighboring P2X subunits forming the ATP-binding site in P2X receptors.