Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies by Community-Living Older Adults*

RÉSUMÉ Les innovations en technologies de l'information et de la communication transforment la société. Toutefois, parmi les aînés résidant au Canada, seulement 1 sur 15 utilisait un ordinateur au tournant du millénium, et 1 sur 5 éprouve des difficultés auditives, visuelles ou de communication (Statistique Canada, 2000). Le but premier de l'étude est d’étudier le lien entre la déficience auditive et l'utilisation des technologies de l'information et de la communication chez les aînés. Un questionnaire portant sur l'utilisation des technologies a été administré à 135 aînés chez qui l'audition a été mesurée par audiométrie. Une corrélation a été démontrée entre l'audition et l'étendue d’utilisation des technologies de la communication, particulièrement en ce qui concerne les technologies nouvelles et spécialisées. Les aînés avec déficience auditive qui ne portent pas d’appareils auditifs n’utilisent pas d’autres technologies aussi fréquemment que leurs pairs ayant une bonne audition ou même ceux qui utilisent des appareils auditifs. De façon générale, l'aptitude et l'étendue d’utilisation des technologies de l'information et de la communication étaient plus élevés au sein de l'échantillon à l'étude comparativement aux résultats rapportés pour un échantillon national. Toutefois, les patrons d’utilisation des diverses technologies ainsi que les facteurs influençant leur utilisation étaient similaires dans les deux échantillons. Des recommandations touchant les études futures, les programmes d’éducation à la santé et la conception universelle sont proposées. ABSTRACT Innovations in information and communication technologies are changing society, but only 1 in 15 Canadian seniors used a computer at the turn of the millennium (Statistics Canada, 2000). Furthermore, about 1 in 5 Canadian seniors has difficulty hearing, seeing, or communicating. The primary goal of the study was to investigate the relationship between hearing impairment and the use of information and communication technologies by older adults. A questionnaire about use of technologies was administered to 135 older adults and hearing was measured using audiometry. Hearing was found to be related to the extent of use of communication technologies, especially newer and more specialized technologies. Those with hearing loss who did not use a hearing aid did not use other technologies as much as peers with good hearing or hearing-aid users. Overall, the extent of and ability to use information and communication technologies was greater for the study sample than in previous findings for a national sample; however, the patterns of usage of various technologies and the factors influencing use were similar in the two samples. Recommendations are made for future research, health education programs, and universal design.
KVSSD: Close integration of LSM trees and flash translation layer for write-efficient KV store

Log-Structured-Merge (LSM) trees are a write-optimized data structure for lightweight, high-performance Key-Value (KV) store. Solid State Disks (SSDs) provide acceleration of KV operations on LSM trees. However, this hierarchical design involves multiple software layers, including the LSM tree, host file system, and Flash Translation Layer (FTL), causing cascading write amplifications. We propose KVSSD, a close integration of LSM trees and the FTL, to manage write amplifications from different layers. KVSSD exploits the FTL mapping mechanism to implement copy-free compaction of LSM trees, and it enables direct data allocation in flash memory for efficient garbage collection. In our experiments, compared to the hierarchical design, our KVSSD reduced the write amplification by 88% and improved the throughput by 347%.
Vibration analysis of pressurized sandwich FG-CNTRC cylindrical shells based on the higher-order shear deformation theory

The present study deals with the vibration analysis of sandwich cylindrical shells with the functionally graded carbon nanotube reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) face sheets resting on elastic medium under internal pressure. Two FG-CNTRC face sheets along with homogeneous core are considered as the sandwich cylindrical shell. The overall mechanical properties of CNT-reinforced composites are presented in accordance to the refined rule of mixture. Based on the higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT) and in the context of the variational differential quadrature (VDQ) method, the discretized version of governing equations is provided. Validation of the proposed model is demonstrated. Several numerical results are also represented to study the impacts of various material and geometrical factors on the vibration analysis of sandwich cylindrical shells. The results reveal that in the case of constant total thickness, increasing the core-to-face sheet thickness ratio decreases the dimensionless frequencies.
The passive leg-raising maneuver cannot accurately predict fluid responsiveness in patients with intra-abdominal hypertension*

Objectives:The passive leg-raising maneuver is a reversible fluid-loading procedure used to predict fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients. The aim of the present study was to determine whether intra-abdominal hypertension (which impairs venous return) reduces the ability of passive leg raising to detect fluid responsiveness in critically ill ventilated patients. Design:A prospective study. Setting:The medical and surgical intensive care unit of a university medical center. Patients:Forty-one mechanically ventilated patients with a pulse pressure variation of >12%. Interventions:Stroke volume was continuously monitored by esophageal Doppler. Intra-abdominal pressure was measured via bladder pressure. After a passive leg-raising maneuver and a return to baseline, fluid loading with 500 mL of saline was performed. Hemodynamic parameters were recorded at each step. Nonresponders to volume loading were not analyzed (10 patients). Thirty-one patients were classified into two groups according to their response to passive leg raising: responders to passive leg raising (at least a 12% increase in stroke volume) and nonresponders to passive leg raising. Measurements and Main Results:Sixteen patients (52%) were responders to passive leg raising, and 15 (48%) were nonresponders to passive leg raising (i.e., false negatives). At baseline, the median intra-abdominal pressure was significantly higher in the nonresponders to passive leg raising than in the responders to passive leg raising (20 [6.5] vs. 11.5 [5.5], respectively; p < .0001). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve was 0.969 ± 0.033. An intra-abdominal pressure cutoff value of 16 mm Hg discriminated between responders to passive leg raising and nonresponders to passive leg raising with a sensitivity of 100% (confidence interval, 78–100) and a specificity of 87.5% (confidence interval, 61.6–98.1). An intra-abdominal pressure of ≥16 mm Hg was the only independent predictor of nonresponse to passive leg raising in a multivariate analysis (odds ratio, 2.6 [confidence interval, 1.1–6.6]; p = .04). Conclusions:An intra-abdominal pressure of ≥16 mm Hg seems to be responsible for false negatives to passive leg raising. Hence, the intra-abdominal pressure should be measured in critically ill ventilated patients, especially before performing passive leg raising.
Assessing the deflection behaviour of mechanical and insulated rail joints using finite element analysis

Rail joints constitute a weak component in the railway system. In this paper, three-dimensional finite element analyses are carried out to study the structural deflection performance of rail joints under a fatigue static test through vertical stiffness assessment. Four different types of four-bolted joints are investigated under a dynamically enhanced static load including a glued insulated rail joint, a dry encapsulated insulated rail joint, a dry non-glued insulated rail joint and a mechanical rail joint. The analysis focused on the accurate simulation of the contact types between the interfaces of rail joint components, namely the rail, fishplate faces, bolts and insulating materials. It also focused on the effect of the elastic supporting structure of the joint with regard to the overall joint deflection. The effect of bolt pre-tension is included in the model. The vertical displacement of insulated rail joints is measured experimentally by dial gauges and a video technique in both laboratory and field settings. The numerical modelling investigated the effect of different contact types on the interfaces of the rail joint components during the performance of fishplates, and of the rail in the vicinity of the rail joint under a given support condition. The vertical displacement of the rail joint was presented and assessed against specified limits of endurance tests and field-measured deflection values that validate the model. Stress distribution in the fishplates was presented that could allow the calculation, through a stress-life approach, the fatigue life of the fishplates and, consequently, of the joints due to repeated wheel passage. A comparison of the performance of the aforementioned rail joint types is included. The results indicate that this finite element model can be routinely used in industries, as it was used in the UK Rail industry study, to allow designers to optimize the life expectancy of insulated rail joints.
for the H.E.S.S. Collaboration

The H.E. S.S. experiment (High Energy Stereoscopic System) is a new generation atmospheric Cherenkov detector measuring high-energy (> 100 GeV) gamma radiation from the Universe. This paper briefly explains the imaging Cherenkov technique and describes the H.E. S.S. project and its current status.
The role of trust in outsourced IS development projects

Here, I focus on the key social factor of trust in OISD projects. Trust is an important aspect of interpersonal [1], as well as interorganizational [4, 11], relationships. One view of trust emphasizes each party’s perception of the motives of the other party. For example, trust can be defined as “a state involving confident positive expectations about another’s motives with respect to oneself in situations entailing risk” [1]. A broader view incorporates motives, along with behavior. For example, trust can be defined as “confidence that the behavior of another will conform to one’s expectations and in the goodwill of another” [4]. Taking this broader view, I examine the role of trust in OISD, the complementary relationship between trust and structure, and the virtuous and vicious cycles involving trust, structure, and performance. My conclusions are based on 18 primary OISD projects (see Table 1 and the sidebar, How the Study Was Conducted). Participants in OISD projects represent at least two different organizations—the client and the vendor. Trust should be viewed differently from its role in internal IS development where participants know each other already and are aware their future personal relationships will reach beyond the current project. But in OISD, participants from both sides often lack prior relationships with one another and may take a Katherine M. Hudson, the former Kodak executive well known for outsourcing
The effect of a family need-based program on burden of caregivers of leukemia patients in Isfahan in 2013-2014

Background: The family of cancer patients experience burden of care because of their caring role. Therefore, appropriate and effective interventions are essential in order to decrease burden. The goal of the present research was to determine the effect of a family need–based program on the burden of care in caregivers of leukemia patients. Materials and Methods: In this clinical research, 70 caregivers of leukemia patients who referred to Sayed Al-Shohada Medical Center in Isfahan, Iran were chosen and divided, through convenient sampling method and using table of random numbers, into two groups, experimental and control. Caregivers of the experimental group attended five training sessions. The data collection tool of this study was the Zarit Burden Scale. It was completed by members of both groups before, immediately after, and 1 month after the intervention. The data obtained were analyzed with SPSS software. Results: During the study period, burden slowly decreased in the experimental group and increased in the control group. Mean burden of care score before, immediately after, and 1 month after the intervention was 63.6, 30.4, and 23.03, respectively, in the experimental group and 62.5, 67.3, and 68.8, respectively, in the control group. In addition, the mean burden score in the experimental group significantly decreased in comparison with the control group (P < 0.001). Conclusion: This family need–based program can decrease burden in caregivers of leukemia patients and may potentially improve the quality of life of both patients and caregivers.
Memory impairment induced by amphetamine derivatives in laboratory animals and in humans: a review

Abstract The 20th century brought with it the so-called club drugs (the most notorious being amphetamine derivatives), which are used by young adults at all-night dance parties. Methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) are synthetic drugs with stimulant and psychoactive properties that belong to the amphetamine family. Here, we have reviewed the literature about the cognitive impairment induced by these two amphetamine derivatives and the preclinical and clinical outcomes. Although there is controversial evidence about the effect of methamphetamine and MDMA on learning and memory in laboratory animals, results from published papers demonstrate that amphetamines cause long-term impairment of cognitive functions. A large number of pharmacological receptors have been studied and screened as targets of amphetamine-induced cognitive dysfunction, and extensive research efforts have been invested to provide evidence about the molecular mechanisms behind these cognitive deficits. In humans, there is a considerable body of evidence indicating that methamphetamine and MDMA seriously disrupt memory and learning processes. Although an association between the impairments of memory performance and a history of recreational amphetamine ingestion has also been corroborated, a number of methodological difficulties continue to hamper research in this field, the most important being the concomitant use of other illicit drugs.
Household air pollution (HAP), microenvironment and child health: Strategies for mitigating HAP exposure in urban Rwanda

Exposure to household air pollution (HAP) from cooking and heating with solid fuels is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Children under five are particularly at risk for acute lower respiratory infection. We use baseline data from a randomized controlled trial evaluating a household energy intervention in Gisenyi, Rwanda to investigate the role of the microenvironment as a determinant of children’s HAP-related health symptoms. Our sample includes 529 households, with 694 children under five. We examine the association between likelihood of HAP-related health symptom prevalence and characteristics of the microenvironment including: dwelling and cooking area structure; distance to nearest road; and tree cover. We find that children residing in groups of enclosed dwellings, in households that cook indoors, and in households proximate to tree cover, are significantly more likely to experience symptoms of respiratory infection, illness with cough and difficulty breathing. On the other hand, children in households with cemented floors and ventilation holes in the cooking area, are significantly less likely to experience the same symptoms. Our findings suggest that in addition to promoting increased access to clean cooking technologies, there are important infrastructure and microenvironment-related interventions that mitigate HAP exposure.
Automated essay scoring with string kernels and word embeddings

In this work, we present an approach based on combining string kernels and word embeddings for automatic essay scoring. String kernels capture the similarity among strings based on counting common character n-grams, which are a low-level yet powerful type of feature, demonstrating state-of-the-art results in various text classification tasks such as Arabic dialect identification or native language identification. To our best knowledge, we are the first to apply string kernels to automatically score essays. We are also the first to combine them with a high-level semantic feature representation, namely the bag-of-super-word-embeddings. We report the best performance on the Automated Student Assessment Prize data set, in both in-domain and cross-domain settings, surpassing recent state-of-the-art deep learning approaches.
Salivary leptin as a candidate diagnostic marker in salivary gland tumors.

BACKGROUND Since the discovery of autonomous leptin production in salivary glands, very few studies have reported on the physiological or pathological meaning of this particular cytokine in saliva. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of leptin and its receptors Ob-Ra and Ob-Rb in parotid salivary gland tumors, with particular regard to a potential use of leptin as a tumor marker. METHODS Parotid tissue samples from healthy individuals (n = 31) and tumor patients (n = 97, including tissue samples from pleomorphic adenomas, adenolymphomas, basal cell adenomas, and diverse carcinomas) were analyzed by use of ApoTome-technique microscopy, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, immunoblotting, and quantitative real-time PCR. Salivary and plasma leptin concentrations were measured by using ELISA. Ultrasound was used to determine tumor size before surgery. RESULTS In all salivary gland tumors leptin was expressed in much higher amounts than in healthy parotid tissues. The cytokine was not imported from the blood but actively produced by the tumors. Immunoblotting results indicated that leptin was present as oligomers in salivary glands. Furthermore, the examined tumors overexpressed the receptor isoforms Ob-Ra and Ob-Rb. Measured leptin concentrations in mixed saliva samples were significantly increased in patients with parotid tumors [mean (SD) 673 (484) pg/mL in pleomorphic adenomas, 679 (465) pg/mL in adenolymphomas, and 880 (618) pg/mL in carcinomas] vs controls [125 (36) pg/mL] (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to show that the analysis of salivary leptin in mixed saliva samples may allow preoperative differentiation between tumor patients and healthy individuals.
Autoimmunity against cardiac troponin I in ischaemia reperfusion injury

Autoimmunity against cardiac troponin I (cTnI) has deleterious effects on the infarcted myocardium early after onset of ischaemia. Here, we explored the impact of cTnI‐autoimmunity in the long term. Furthermore, we studied the effects of cTnI‐autoimmunity on the infarcted myocardium following revascularization measures in terms of ischaemia reperfusion injury (IRI), which resembles clinical reality more closely.
Labor Pain Mechanisms

Pain is a major socioeconomic and health problem in the world. There is no unique medical term that can encompass the vast reach of the condition, from acute surgery-related presentations to persistent body or site-specific pain. Although nociception is instrumental to survival, understanding of its mechanisms and pathways is still underway. It is crucial not only for “physiological” pain but even more for “pathologic” pain, for example, extremely severe acute and debilitating chronic pain. Severe acute pain is clinically challenging, limits patient mobility, and negatively affects mood. Furthermore, studies show that severe acute pain, for example, postsurgical pain, predicts long-term chronic pain. Chronic pain, as defined in the American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines for Chronic Pain Management, is “pain of any etiology not directly related to neoplastic involvement, associated with a chronic medical condition or extending in duration beyond the expected temporal boundary of tissue injury and normal healing, and adversely affecting the function or well-being of the individual. ” In recent years chronic pain has become a global pandemic, with millions suffering every year (Global Industry Analysts Inc. Report, January 10, 2011). In the United States alone, there is a tremendous expenditure of economic and social resources on health care costs, rehabilitation, and lost worker productivity, as well as the emotional and financial burden it places on patients and their families. Labor is traditionally regarded as one of the most painful events in a woman’s reproductive history, although its self-description ranges from nonexistent to excruciating. Such variation in women’s perception of labor pain is an interaction of physiological and biobehavioral processes. Although there are interindividual differences in pain intensity, reported pain experiences can be influenced and modified by
Ticket to Talk: Supporting Conversation between Young People and People with Dementia through Digital Media

We explore the role of digital media in supporting intergenerational interactions between people with dementia and young people. Though meaningful social interaction is integral to quality of life in dementia, initiating conversation with a person with dementia can be challenging, especially for younger people who may lack knowledge of someone's life history. This can be further compounded without a nuanced understanding of the nature of dementia, along with an unfamiliarity in leading and maintaining conversation. We designed a mobile application - Ticket to Talk - to support intergenerational interactions by encouraging young people to collect media relevant to individuals with dementia to use in conversations with people with dementia. We evaluated Ticket to Talk through trials with two families, a care home, and groups of older people. We highlight difficulties in using technologies such as this as a conversational tool, the value of digital media in supporting intergenerational interactions, and the potential to positively shape people with dementia's agency in social settings.
High Rates of Malnutrition in Older Adults Receiving Different Levels of Health Care in Lleida, Catalonia: An Assessment of Contributory Factors

The aim of this study was to define the factors associated with the presence or risk of malnutrition in older adults (>65 years of age) attending health care centers in Lleida, Catalonia, using a cross-sectional study approach. Nutritional parameters assessed included the Mini Nutritional Assessment Scale, sociodemographic and psychosocial factors, functional and cognitive status, swallowing and oral problems, texture and route of administration of the diet, changes in dietary intake, and presence of digestive disorders. A total of 398 individuals (184 men) with an average age of 77 years were included in the assessment. Poor nutritional status was recorded in 58% of the individuals. Factors independently associated with unsatisfactory nutritional status included weight loss, functional dependence, cognitive impairment, loneliness, living without a partner, history of heart disease, lung disease, and the presence of acute vomiting.
Proposal for non-BPS D-brane action

In this short note we would like to propose a form for the action of a non-BPS D-brane, which will be manifestly supersymmetric invariant and T-duality covariant. We also explicitly show that tachyon condensation on the world-volume of this brane leads to the Dirac-Born-Infeld action for BPS D(p-1)-brane.