Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beyond Terror and Denial: The Positive Psychology of Death Acceptance

Death remains the biggest threat as well as the greatest challenge to humanity. It is the single universal event that affects all of us in ways more than we care to know (Greenberg, Koole, & Pyszczynski, 2004; Wass & Neimeyer, 1995; Yalom, 2008). Because of the unique human capacity of meaning-making and social construction, death has evolved into a very complex and dynamic system, involving biological, psychological, spiritual, societal, and cultural components (Kastenbaum, 2000). Whatever meanings we attach to death may have important implications for our wellbeing. Thus, at a personal level, death attitudes matter: Death defines personal meaning and determines how we live (Neimeyer, 2005; Tomer, 2000; Tomer, Eliason, & Wong, 2008). At the cultural level, death also makes its ubiquitous presence felt in a broad spectrum of social functions, from family, religion, and the entertainment industry to medical care (Kearl, 1989). How we relate to our own mortality is in turn mediated by family, society, and culture (Kastenbaum, 2000). In sum, all human activities are framed by death anxiety and colored by our collective and individual efforts to resolve this inescapable and intractable existential given. In the post-9=11 era, the ever-present threat of terrorist attacks has injected into our collective awareness the unpredictable nature
On small degree extension fields in cryptology

This thesis studies the implications of using public key cryptographic primitives that are based in, or map to, the multiplicative group of finite fields with small extension degree. A central observation is that the multiplicative group of extension fields essentially decomposes as a product of algebraic tori, whose properties allow for improved communication efficiency. Part I of this thesis is concerned with the constructive implications of this idea. Firstly, algorithms are developed for the efficient implementation of torus-based cryptosystems and their performance compared with previous work. It is then shown how to apply these methods to operations required in low characteristic pairing-based cryptography. Finally, practical schemes for high-dimensional tori are discussed. Highly optimised implementations and benchmark timings are provided for each of these systems. Part II addresses the security of the schemes presented in Part I, i.e., the hardness of the discrete logarithm problem. Firstly, an heuristic analysis of the effectiveness of the Function Field Sieve in small characteristic is given. Next presented is an implementation of this algorithm for characteristic three fields used in pairing-based cryptography. Finally, a new index calculus algorithm for solving the discrete logarithm problem on algebraic tori is described and analysed.
Two orienting mechanisms in posterior parietal lobule: An rTMS study of the Simon and SNARC effects

The aim of the present study was to investigate, with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), the involvement of posterior parietal lobule (PPL) circuits in producing the Simon effect and the spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect. The Simon effect is indexed by faster responses to left-side stimuli with left- than with right-side key-presses and faster responses to right-side stimuli with right- than with left-side key-presses. The SNARC effect is indexed by faster responses to smaller numbers with left- than with right-side key-presses and faster responses to larger numbers with right- than with left-side key-presses. Participants were required to perform a parity judgement on numbers ranging from 1 to 9 (without 5), by pressing a left or a right response key. The numbers were presented to either the left or the right side of fixation. Two bilateral PPL areas lying along the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) were stimulated with rTMS. Results suggested a causal role of the anterior portion of PPL of both hemispheres in the Simon effect and of the posterior portion of PPL of both hemispheres in the Simon effect and the SNARC effect.
Arabic speech recognition using recurrent neural networks

In this paper, a novel approach for implementing Arabic isolated speech recognition is described. While most of the literature on speech recognition (SR) is based on hidden Markov models (HMM), the present system is implemented by modular recurrent Elman neural networks (MRENN). The promising results obtained through this design show that this new neural networks approach can compete with the traditional HMM-based speech recognition approaches.
Evidence that a non-steroidal factor from corpus luteum of pregnant sheep inhibits aromatase activity of ovarian follicles in vitro.

Porcine and ovine follicular tissues were used to investigate, in vitro, the effect of charcoal-treated aqueous extract from ovine corpora lutea of pregnancy on aromatase activity as determined by the conversion of [3H]testosterone to oestradiol by follicular walls and measurement of 3H2O release. Extract (500 micrograms protein) prepared from corpora lutea of day 112 of pregnancy but not extract (500 micrograms) prepared from ovine fetal cotyledonary tissue obtained at a similar time significantly decreased (P < 0.02) aromatase activity of pig follicles in the absence of FSH. These results demonstrate that a non-steroidal factor in the corpora lutea of late pregnancy directly inhibits aromatase activity. When the effects of different doses (300, 600 or 1200 micrograms) of luteal extract from corpora lutea of day 100 of pregnancy on aromatase activity of pig follicles were studied, the dose by treatment (presence or absence of FSH) interaction was not significant. Luteal extract dose at 300 micrograms did not affect aromatase activity but a significant decrease in activity occurred at 600 micrograms of luteal extract (600 versus 300 micrograms, P < 0.02). There was no further significant increase in the inhibitory effect with 1200 micrograms luteal extract. When the effects of 600 micrograms luteal extract from corpora lutea of days 15, 75 or 100 of pregnancy on aromatase activity of pig follicles were studied, a significant (P < 0.05) stage of pregnancy effect was detected, but the stage of pregnancy by treatment (presence or absence of FSH) interaction was not significant. No effect was noted with day 15 or day 75 luteal extract. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Chinese translation and validation of the Kujala scale for patients with patellofemoral pain

Purpose: This study translated and validated the Kujala scale, a well-documented questionnaire for patients with patellofemoral pain, into Chinese version. Method: Chinese Kujala scale was translated from the original English version following the recommendations of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research. Sixty four Chinese reading patients who are diagnosed of patellofemoral pain were recruited from multiple hospitals and physiotherapy clinics. Psychometric property was evaluated in terms of test-retest reliability and internal consistency. Convergent validity was examined by Spearman rank correlation coefficient tests by comparing its score with the validated Chinese version of WOMAC Osteoarthritis Index and SF-36. Results: Chinese Kujala scale demonstrated excellent reliability (ICC = 0.968, p < 0.001). Cronbach’s α of individual questions and its overall value were above 0.7. Strong correlation was found between the Chinese Kujala scale and the WOMAC Osteoarthritis Index (rho = −0.708, p < 0.001). Fairly weak correlations were also found between Chinese Kujala scale with the “physical” (rho = 0.413–0.498, p < 0.001) and “energy vitality” (rho = 0.290, p = 0.02) domains of SF-36. However, the relationship between the “bodily pain” was not significant (rho = 0.136, p = 0.284). Conclusion: The Chinese translated version of Kujala scale is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the patellofemoral pain associated functional disturbances among the patient cohort. Implications for Rehabilitation The Chinese translated version of Kujala scale is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the functional disturbances associated with patellofemoral pain among the patient cohort. This instrument facilitates research among Chinese population and multinational studies.
[Manifestations of the connective tissue associated interstitial lung disease under high resolution computed tomography].

OBJECTIVE To analyze the features of the connective tissue associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD) by high resolution computed tomography (HRCT). Methods: A total of 127 patients with CTD-ILD, who were diagnosed by clinic laboratory examination and pathology in Xiangya Hospital of Central South University form September 2013 to September 2015, were enrolled for this study. Their lung features of HRCT imaging were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The classifications for 127 patients were as follows: 36 cases of rheumatoid arthritis (28.3%), 34 cases of dermatomyositis and polymyositis (26.8%), 31 cases of systemic sclerosis (24.4%), 18 cases of Sjögren syndrome (14.2%), 7 cases of mixed connective tissue disease (5.5%), and 1 cases of systemic lupus erythematosus (0.8%). According to the features of HRCT imaging, the patients were divided as follows: 77 cases (60.6%) of nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), 46 cases (36.2%) of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP), 2 cases (1.6%) of lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia (LIP), 1 case (0.8%) of cryptogenic interstitial pneumonia (COP), and 1 case (0.8%) of acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP). The HRCT findings for 36 cases of rheumatoid arthritis associated interstitial lung disease were UIP (24 cases, 66.7%) and NSIP (12 cases, 33.3%); the HRCT findings for 34 cases of dermatomyositis and polymyositis associated interstitial lung disease were NSIP (32 cases, 94.1%), UIP (1 case, 2.9%) and COP (1 case, 2.9%); the HRCT findings for 31 cases of systemic sclerosis associated interstitial lung disease were NSIP (21 cases, 67.8%), UIP (9 cases, 29%), LIP(1 case, 3.2%); the HRCT findings for 18 cases of Sjögren syndrome associated interstitial lung disease were NSIP (9 cases, 50.0%), UIP (8 cases, 44.4%), LIP (1 case, 5.6%); the HRCT findings for 7 cases of mixed connective tissue disease associated interstitial lung disease were UIP (4 cases, 57.1%), NSIP (3 cases, 42.9%). SLE-ILD was rare, with only 1 case of AIP. Conclusion: Different types of CTD-ILD patients display relatively unique manifestation of HRCT.
Mathematical Test Effort Estimation for Dependability Assessment of Sensor-Based Driver Assistance Systems

The development of modern driver assistance systems in the automotive domain requires extensive testing, for safety as well as for legal reasons. This is especially the case for sensor-based systems that provide support for autonomous driving: if they fail, an accident may occur with fatal consequences. In the majority of cases, the required test effort is roughly estimated by means of previous project data, expert knowledge or based on economical factors. As an alternative, a general mathematical approach is presented in this paper, which is focused on black box systems with sensor data fusion. It enables new projects related with sensor data fusion to estimate the required test effort for a given scenario.
Clinical and molecular study of a pediatric patient with sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide deficiency

The human solute carrier family 10 member 1 (SLC10A1) gene encodes sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP), the principal transporter of conjugated bile salts from the plasma into hepatocytes. Although the function of NTCP has been studied extensively and a number of SLC10A1 variations have been identified in humans, information regarding NTCP deficiency is limited. To date, only one patient with NTCP deficiency has been described; however, in the present study a pediatric patient who experienced intractable and striking hypercholanemia is presented. Analysis of the SLC10A1 gene in the patient revealed a homozygous p.Ser267Phe (c.800C>T) variation, which proved to be a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the allele frequency of 4.7% of healthy controls. This variation involved a conserved amino acid residue on the orthologous alignment that was predicted to be ‘disease-causing’ by functional analysis using a number of bioinformatic tools. Next generation sequencing was performed; however, no other genetic causes were identified that would affect the bile acid homeostasis in the patient. Moreover, an adult, with the same genotype as the pediatric patient, was identified for the first time as experiencing mild hypercholanemia. The molecular and clinical findings in the present study suggest, for the first time, that there is an association between p.Ser267Phe SNP and hypercholanemia, and this information may be used to clinically identify NTCP deficiency worldwide.
High-excitation OH and H2O Lines in Markarian 231: The Molecular Signatures of Compact Far-infrared Continuum Sources

The ISO LWS far-infrared spectrum of the ultraluminous galaxy Mrk 231 shows OH and H2O lines in absorption from energy levels up to 300 K above the ground state, and emission in the [O I] 63 μm and [C II] 158 μm lines. Our analysis shows that OH and H2O are radiatively pumped by the far-infrared continuum emission of the galaxy. The absorptions in the high-excitation lines require high far-infrared radiation densities, allowing us to constrain the properties of the underlying continuum source. The bulk of the far-infrared continuum arises from a warm (Tdust = 70–100 K), optically thick (τ100μ m = 1–2) medium of effective diameter 200-400 pc. In our best-fit model of total luminosity LIR, the observed OH and H2O high-lying lines arise from a luminous (L/LIR ∼ 0.56) region with radius ~100 pc. The high surface brightness of this component suggests that its infrared emission is dominated by the AGN. The derived column densities N(OH) ≳ 1017 cm−2 and N(H2O) ≳ 6 × 1016 cm−2 may indicate X-ray dominated region (XDR) chemistry, although significant starburst chemistry cannot be ruled out. The lower-lying OH, [C II] 158 μm, and [O I] 63 μm lines arise from a more extended (~350 pc) starburst region. We show that the [C II] deficit in Mrk 231 is compatible with a high average abundance of C+ because of an extreme overall luminosity to gas mass ratio. Therefore, a [C II] deficit may indicate a significant contribution to the luminosity by an AGN, and/or by extremely efficient star formation.
Sensing and acting with predefined trajectories

We consider applications of mobile wireless sensor actor networks(MWSAN) that require periodic readings and/or actions. In such a context, a single integrated sensor-actor can be used to monitor different regions of the target area if it is able to move from one region to another within some expected time limit. In this paper, we propose a mobility strategy that consists in making nodes follow a space-filling curve with good locality properties (i.e., regions close on the curve are also close on the area). This strategy has a number of advantages, such as higher possibility for merging readings when these latter present high spatial correlation (as in the examples listed above). We also propose that nodes use opportunistic contacts to reduce the delivery delay performed by the sensing module. Through a number of numerical analysis, we show that with a proper dimensioning of the system, we can achieve full area coverage and guarantee bounded delivery delays with a limited number of sensor-actor nodes.
STABILITY OF SHALLOW TUNNELS IN SOFT GROUND

This paper examines the undrained stability of a shallow circular tunnel in soft ground using theoretical and experimental methods. Rigorous bounds on the loads required to resist collapse are derived using two numerical methods which are based on finite element formulations of the classical limit theorems. Both of these methods can account for the variation of shear strength with depth and lead to large linear programming problems. To improve the quality of the numerical solutions, the upper bounds from the finite element procedure are compared with those obtained from a number of rigid block mechanisms. The theoretical predictions, which are presented in the form of dimensionless stability charts, are compared against the results from controlled centrifuge experiments and their limitations are discussed. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD 859983.
Secrecy Rates in the Broadcast Channel with Confidential Messages and External Eavesdroppers

In this paper, we consider the broadcast channel with confidential messages and external eavesdroppers (BCCE), where a multi-antenna base station simultaneously communicates to multiple potentially malicious users, in the presence of randomly located external eavesdroppers. Using the proposed model, we study the secrecy rates achievable by regularized channel inversion (RCI) precoding by performing a large-system analysis that combines tools from stochastic geometry and random matrix theory. We obtain explicit expressions for the probability of secrecy outage and an upper bound on the rate loss due to the presence of external eavesdroppers. We show that both these quantities scale as $\frac{\lambda_e}{\sqrt{N}}$, where $N$ is the number of transmit antennas and $\lambda_e$ is the density of external eavesdroppers, irrespective of their collusion strategy. Furthermore, we derive a practical rule for the choice of the regularization parameter, which is agnostic of channel state information and location of eavesdroppers, and yet provides close to optimal performance.
Early-onset behavioral and neurochemical deficits in the genetic mouse model of phenylketonuria

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is one of the most common human inborn errors of metabolism, caused by phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency, leading to high phenylalanine and low tyrosine levels in blood and brain causing profound cognitive disability, if untreated. Since 1960, population is screened for hyperphenylalaninemia shortly after birth and submitted to early treatment in order to prevent the major manifestations of the disease. However, the dietetic regimen (phenylalanine free diet) is difficult to maintain, and despite the recommendation to a strict and lifelong compliance, up to 60% of adolescents partially or totally abandons the treatment. The development and the study of new treatments continue to be sought, taking advantage of preclinical models, the most used of which is the PAHenu2 (BTBR ENU2), the genetic murine model of PKU. To date, adult behavioral and neurochemical alterations have been mainly investigated in ENU2 mice, whereas there are no clear indications about the onset of these deficiencies. Here we investigated and report, for the first time, a comprehensive behavioral and neurochemical assay of the developing ENU2 mice. Overall, our findings demonstrate that ENU2 mice are significantly smaller than WT until pnd 24, present a significant delay in the acquisition of tested developmental reflexes, impaired communicative, motor and social skills, and have early reduced biogenic amine levels in several brain areas. Our results extend the understanding of behavioral and cerebral abnormalities in PKU mice, providing instruments to an early preclinical evaluation of the effects of new treatments.
Whole Slide Quantification of Stromal Lymphatic Vessel Distribution and Peritumoral Lymphatic Vessel Density in Early Invasive Cervical Cancer: A Method Description

Peritumoral Lymphatic Vessel Density (LVD) is considered to be a predictive marker for the presence of lymph node metastases in cervical cancer. However, when LVD quantification relies on conventional optical microscopy and the hot spot technique, interobserver variability is significant and yields inconsistent conclusions. In this work, we describe an original method that applies computed image analysis to whole slide scanned tissue sections following immunohistochemical lymphatic vessel staining. This procedure allows to determine an objective LVD quantification as well as the lymphatic vessel distribution and its heterogeneity within the stroma surrounding the invasive tumor bundles. The proposed technique can be useful to better characterize lymphatic vessel interactions with tumor cells and could potentially impact on prognosis and therapeutic decisions.
articleDoes the pharmacy expenditure of patients always correspond with their morbidity burden ? Exploring new approaches in the interpretation of pharmacy expenditure

Background: The computerisation of primary health care (PHC) records offers the opportunity to focus on pharmacy expenditure from the perspective of the morbidity of individuals. The objective of the present study was to analyse the behaviour of pharmacy expenditure within different morbidity groups. We paid special attention to the identification of individuals who had higher values of pharmacy expenditure than their morbidity would otherwise suggest (i.e.
Effect of Nitrogen and Molybdenum on Post Harvest Soil Characteristics and Economic Yield of Bush Bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.).

A field experiment was carried out at the research field of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during December 2006 to February 2007 to study the effect of nitrogen and molybdenum on post harvest soil characteristics and economic yield of bush bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.). The treatments consisted of 5 levels of N (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg ha -1 ) designated and 3 levels of Mo (0, 0.5 and 1.0 kg ha-1). Urea and ammonium molybdate were used as the sources of nitrogen and molybdenum, respectively. The characteristics of the post harvest soils showed a marked variation in relation to soil pH, soil organic carbon, N, P, K and S content in the post harvest soil due to application of N and Mo. The highest organic carbon (0.60%) and total N (0.072%) was obtained from N 120 . The highest organic carbon (0.60%) and total N (0.068%) was obtained from Mo 0.5 . The maximum organic carbon was obtained (0.63%) from N 120 Mo 0.5 treatment combination. The maximum total N was obtained (0.075%) from N 160 Mo 0.5 treatment combination. The results of economic analysis showed that the highest net benefit of Tk.1,68,722.00 ha -1 was obtained in N 120 Mo 0.5 treatment and the lowest net benefit of Tk.16,559.00 ha -1 was found in control.