Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of the Item Discrimination and Item Difficulty of the Quick-Mental Aptitude Test using CTT and IRT Methods

The purpose of this research is to compare the item difficulty and item discrimination of the QuickMental Aptitude Test (Q-MAT) using Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory (IRT) methods across 1, 2, and 3 parameters. The developed instrument was administered to a college sample of N=229. The data gathered was analyzed for possible relationship of the item characteristics using CTT and IRT methods. Results indicate that the 2 parameter IRT model closely resembles CTT of the verbal and non-verbal test in terms of item discrimination (R 2 verbal=.891, p<.01; R 2 nonverbal=.945, p<.01) and item difficulty (R 2 verbal=.896, p<.01; R 2 nonverbal=.984, p<.01). With the emerging trend of developing local instruments more and more research has been developed in producing psychological tests. Most often, these researchers rely on Classical Test Theory (CTT) to develop these instruments in spite of the strong presence of Item Response Theory in the recent decades. As part of the test development process, analysis of the items is a crucial part. Two prevailing methods, both with strengths and weaknesses, are predominantly used. In the Classical Test Theory, its ease of use and adaptability in analyzing practically all kinds of tests renders it a popular choice. However, its strong dependence on the kind of sampling required often limits its applicability. Hence, CTT developed tests would see the need for bigger sampling every now and then which in the long run renders it expensive. On the other hand, the emerging Item Response Theory (IRT) seems to have found a way to avoid the pitfalls of CTT. It is said to be sample free or sample independent. The only drawback is the cumbersome statistical analysis required which other test developers would shy away from. Nevertheless, IRT is slowly gaining momentum in the field of psychology (Andrade, Tavares & Valle, 2000). In CTT, test scores are said to be composed of three components: test score, true score, and error score. The invariance is brought about by differences contributed by the sample from which the scores were derived. Again, here lies the dependence of CTT on the sample the scores were taken from. However, IRT addresses this by disregarding the sample and instead looking at the characteristics of the item or item parameters. By focusing on the items, the issue of sampling becomes negligible. One can now generalize better item-generated scores across samples and person abilities (Hambleton, Swaminathan, & Rogers, 1991). Studies linking CTT and IRT item characteristics have been done and have shown signs of positive indications of a relationship that exists (Adedoyin, Nenty, and Chilisa, 2008; Nukhet, 2002; Fan, 1998). However, local literature has yet to replicate the studies and results. It is then the goal of this paper is to analyze the item characteristics of a newly developed test using both CTT and IRT methods and to check if both methods are comparable and can used independently or interchangeably.
A Cultural Evolution Approach to Digital Media

Digital media have today an enormous diffusion, and their influence on the behavior of a vast part of the human population can hardly be underestimated. In this review I propose that cultural evolution theory, including both a sophisticated view of human behavior and a methodological attitude to modeling and quantitative analysis, provides a useful framework to study the effects and the developments of media in the digital age. I will first give a general presentation of the cultural evolution framework, and I will then introduce this more specific research program with two illustrative topics. The first topic concerns how cultural transmission biases, that is, simple heuristics such as “copy prestigious individuals” or “copy the majority,” operate in the novel context of digital media. The existence of transmission biases is generally justified with their adaptivity in small-scale societies. How do they operate in an environment where, for example, prestigious individuals possess not-relevant skills, or popularity is explicitly quantified and advertised? The second aspect relates to fidelity of cultural transmission. Digitally-mediated interactions support cheap and immediate high-fidelity transmission, in opposition, for example, to oral traditions. How does this change the content that is more likely to spread? Overall, I suggest the usefulness of a “long view” to our contemporary digital environment, contextualized in cognitive science and cultural evolution theory, and I discuss how this perspective could help us to understand what is genuinely new and what is not.
Towards a Technique for Extracting Microservices from Monolithic Enterprise Systems

The idea behind microservices architecture is to develop a single large, complex application as a suite of small, cohesive, independent services. On the other way, monolithic systems get larger over the time, deviating from the intended architecture, and becoming risky and expensive to evolve. This paper describes a technique to identify and define microservices on monolithic enterprise systems. As the major contribution, our evaluation shows that our approach was able to identify relevant candidates to become microservices on a 750 KLOC banking system.
Nuclear Control of the Inflammatory Response in Mammals by Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors that play pivotal roles in the regulation of a very large number of biological processes including inflammation. Using specific examples, this paper focuses on the interplay between PPARs and innate immunity/inflammation and, when possible, compares it among species. We focus on recent discoveries establishing how inflammation and PPARs interact in the context of obesity-induced inflammation and type 2 diabetes, mostly in mouse and humans. We illustrate that PPARγ ability to alleviate obesity-associated inflammation raises an interesting pharmacologic potential. In the light of recent findings, the protective role of PPARα and PPARβ/δ against the hepatic inflammatory response is also addressed. While PPARs agonists are well-established agents that can treat numerous inflammatory issues in rodents and humans, surprisingly very little has been described in other species. We therefore also review the implication of PPARs in inflammatory bowel disease; acute-phase response; and central, cardiac, and endothelial inflammation and compare it along different species (mainly mouse, rat, human, and pig). In the light of the data available in the literature, there is no doubt that more studies concerning the impact of PPAR ligands in livestock should be undertaken because it may finally raise unconsidered health and sanitary benefits.
Gastrointestinal bezoars

Of 99 patients with 117 gastrointestinal bezoars, 69 had undergone previous surgery, the most common operation being bilateral truncal vagotomy with pyloroplasty (55 patients). An excessive intake of vegetable fibre was found in 38 patients and poor mastication in 27. Thirty bezoars presented with gastric symptoms and patients had endoscopy as the diagnostic technique; 87 caused symptoms of intestinal obstruction with the diagnosis made by plain abdominal radiography. Medical treatment by enzymic or endoscopic fragmentation was used for 17 of 30 gastric bezoars; surgery was required in the remainder. Intestinal bezoars causing obstruction can be fragmented and ‘milked’ to the caecum. The stomach should be explored for associated gastric bezoars.
Effect of Eugenia Jambolana on Plasma Glucose, Insulin Sensitivity and HDL-C Levels: Preliminary Results of A Randomized Clinical Trial

To validate scientifically a household remedy of Eugenia jambolana seed based drug Madhuhara churna [AVA Trust Regd] in diabetes mellitus, a use based on ethnic preferences. A 6 month parallel designed open labeled randomized, controlled trial was conducted in 30 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients were enrolled to: Group 1 (n = 15) received Madhuhara churna [AVA Trust Regd]; Group 2 (n= 5) received metformin and Group 3 (n=10) were on diet restriction and exercise therapy only. They were followed up each month for 6 months with detailed clinical examination; assessment of compliance to drug intake, diet adherence and exercise; a complete history of adverse events; different parameters to measure the efficacy were done. There was no significant difference in the baseline characteristics of patients in each of the three groups enrolled for study. The results showed a significant decrease in fasting blood glucose at 3rd (152.0 mg/dl± 22.5 to 140.7 mg/dl± 26.6, P=0.016) and 6th (152.0 mg/dl± 22.5 to 134.0 ± 21.3, P=0.043) month, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance at 3rd (10.3 ± 4.7 to 6.5 ± 4.1, P=0.027) month and a highly significant rise in high density lipoprotein value at 3rd (39.7 ± 9.6 to 47.3 ± 6.8, P= 0.001) month was seen in group 1 when compared to baseline values. Madhuhara churna [AVA Trust Regd] treatment in type 2 diabetic patients for 6 months has a beneficial effect in improving the glycemic profile in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics.
SYNTHETIC LUBRICANTS CAN INHIBIT THE DEVELOPMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS IN A GUINEA-PIGMODEL

+ Clarke, M T; + Lee, P T H; + Rushton, N. + University of Cambridge, England. Introduction Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative condition of synovial joints involving the destruction of articular hyaline cartilage. In the 1970’s, ‘viscosupplementation’ with hyaluronan was proposed as a potential treatment for OA with the idea that it would improve joint lubrication. However, despite studies showing its ability to reduce pain, the fact that the resident time within a joint (48 hours) is much less than its clinical effect (often several months) along with pharmacological effects on chondroctyes and synoviocytes has confirmed that injected hyaluronan acts as a pharmaceutical rather than as a lubricant as originally thought [1,2]. For this reason, the effects of artificially lubricating an arthritic joint have not previously been adequately investigated. This study examines the effect of injecting an inert, synthetic lubricant on the development of OA in a surgically induced model of osteoarthritis in the adult guinea pig [3]. Our initial hypothesis was that totally synthetic, highly inert, perfluoroalkylethers (PFAE) with appropriate viscosities (3,000-30,000 centistokes) could perform optimally as mechanical joint lubricants to prevent OA. These nonimmunogenic long chain polymers are based on inert fluorine polymer chemistry and contain only carbon, oxygen and fluorine in their molecule and are highly resistant to all forms of chemical interaction.
Predictors of Clinical Progression among HIV-1–Positive Patients starting HAART with CD4+ T-cell Counts ≥200 cells/mm3

Background Baseline and follow-up predictors of new AIDS-defining events (ADE) or death among patients who started HAART with CD4+ T-cell counts ≥200 cells/mm3 have rarely been assessed simultaneously. Methods A prospective observational cohort study (1996–2002) is reported. HIV-infected patients initiating HAART with a CD4+ T-cell count ≥200 cells/mm3 were studied. Baseline and time-varying factors were tested for the prediction of new ADE/death using Cox regression models. Results A total of 896 subjects were studied over a median of 5.1 years. The incidence of a new ADE was 1.6 (95% confidence interval 1.3–2.1) per 100 person-years. Among baseline factors, higher CD4+ T-cell counts before HAART were associated with lower risk of ADE/death, but not after adjustment for time-varying factors. On a multivariable analysis including both baseline and time-varying covariates, longer delay from HIV diagnosis to HAART was an independent predictor of ADE/death (per year, hazard ratio [HR] 1.06; P=0.025) and was independent of CD4+ T-cell count before treatment. Longer time spent with HIV RNA <400 copies/ml (per month, HR 0.96; P=0.003) and higher latest CD4+ T-cell count (per log2 cells/mm3, HR 0.65; P<0.001) were found to be protective. Conclusions Patients with higher CD4+ T-cell counts before HAART initiation had a better prognosis. However, except for the delay in starting HAART, viro-immunological evolution outweighed the effect of baseline factors. Moreover, suppressing HIV replication for as long as possible could improve the clinical outcome. Prospective randomized clinical trials to assess the optimal timing of HAART initiation are both feasible and urgently needed.
Impact of nutrition education on food and nutrient intake of pregnant women.

Researchers compared data on 33 pregnant women attending nutrition education classes regularly over a 13-week period (nutrition education group) with data on 33 other pregnant women who did not receive such education (controls) to examine the impact of nutrition education on the pregnant women's food and nutrient intake. The 66 pregnant women were selected from two hospitals and two urban family welfare centers in Ludhiana city, India. All were from the low socioeconomic group (i.e., per capita income of Rs. 369/month). A dietary survey was conducted at 20 weeks gestation and again at 36 weeks gestation. At 20 weeks, the two groups were not statistically different. The intake of cereals, pulses, green leafy vegetables, fats and oils, and sugar and jagger were lower than the recommended daily intake (RDI). On the other hand, intake was more than RDI for milk and milk products, other vegetables, and roots and tubers. Except thiamine and ascorbic acid, intake of nutrients was inadequate. In both the nutrition education group and the control group, nutrient intake was higher at 36 weeks than at 20 weeks due to the increased food requirements of pregnancy. Women in the nutrition education group were more likely than the control group to consume more protein, vitamin A, thiamine, folic acid, and vitamin C. This likely reflects a higher consumption of pulses, milk and milk products, fruits, and vegetables as well as adopting favorable nutritional practices (e.g., use of sprouted grains). Nevertheless, intake was below RDIs for many nutrients, even for women in the nutrition education group. These findings suggest that nutrition education for pregnant women does improve nutrient intake but also that more needs to be done to bring intake levels up even higher.
Decreased expression of the insulin-like growth factor-I-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) phosphoisoform in pre-eclamptic Wharton's jelly and its role in the regulation of collagen biosynthesis

Abstract Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is known as an important stimulator of collagen and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) biosynthesis in tissues. IGF-I activity is under control of IGF-I-binding proteins (IGFBPs) with different IGF-I-binding affinity. IGFBP-1 is known as an inhibitor of IGF-dependent functions. Some IGFBPs (e.g., IGFBP-1) may undergo phosphorylation that dramatically increases IGFBP affinity for IGF. Wharton's jelly represents a reservoir of IGF-I and its binding proteins (BPs). Pre-eclampsia, the most common, pregnancy-associated pathological syndrome, contributes to a significant decrease in IGF-I and IGFBP-1 content in Wharton's jelly, although it does not affect collagen content in this tissue. In the present study we show that control Wharton's jelly contains phosphorylated forms of IGFBP-1 that are dramatically dephosphorylated during pre-eclampsia. A dramatic decrease in IGF-I binding to immunoprecipitated IGFBP-1 from pre-eclamptic Wharton's jelly compared to the control was observed. Western immunoblot analysis with anti-phosphothreonine antibodies for immunoprecipitated IGFBP-1 from control and pre-eclamptic Wharton's jelly revealed that both tissues contain phosphorylated forms of IGFBP-1. However, a distinct decrease in the expression of phosphorylated IGFBP-1 from pre-eclamptic Wharton's jelly was observed. The functional significance of the phenomenon was found in cultured fibroblasts treated with IGFBP isolated from Wharton's jelly extracts. A significant decrease in collagen biosynthesis was found in the cells treated with IGFBP of control Wharton's jelly, while in the presence of IGFBP from pre-eclamptic Wharton's jelly, the rate of collagen biosynthesis was similar to that in the control cells. The result was corroborated by data showing increase in expression of IGF-I receptor and phosphorylated MAP kinases (ERK1 and ERK2) in fibroblasts cultured in the presence of IGFBP from pre-eclamptic Wharton's jelly, compared to control. The data suggest that the decrease in phosphorylated IGFBP-1 in pre-eclamptic Wharton's jelly may decrease IGF-I-binding affinity for IGF and increase the bioavailability of IGF-I for receptor interaction. This mechanism may facilitate IGF-I-dependent stimulation of fibroblasts to produce extracellular matrix (ECM) components even at a low IGF-I tissue level. Therefore, IGFBP-1 phosphoisoforms in Wharton's jelly may play an important role in the regulation of IGF-I-dependent functions during pre-eclampsia.
Effects of fatigue on motor unit firing rate versus recruitment threshold relationships

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of fatigue on the average firing rate versus recruitment threshold relationships for the vastus lateralis (VL) and vastus medialis. Methods: Nineteen subjects performed ten maximum voluntary contractions of the dominant leg extensors. Before and after this fatiguing protocol, the subjects performed a trapezoid isometric muscle action of the leg extensors, and bipolar surface electromyographic signals were detected from both muscles. These signals were then decomposed into individual motor unit action potential trains. For each subject and muscle, the relationship between average firing rate and recruitment threshold was examined using linear regression analyses. Results: For the VL, the linear slope coefficients and y‐intercepts for these relationships increased and decreased, respectively, after fatigue. For both muscles, many of the motor units decreased their firing rates. Conclusion: With fatigue, recruitment of higher threshold motor units resulted in an increase in slope for the VL. Muscle Nerve 45: 100–109, 2012
Learning Human Motion Models for Long-Term Predictions

We propose a new architecture for the learning of predictive spatio-temporal motion models from data alone. Our approach, dubbed the Dropout Autoencoder LSTM (DAELSTM), is capable of synthesizing natural looking motion sequences over long-time horizons1 without catastrophic drift or motion degradation. The model consists of two components, a 3-layer recurrent neural network to model temporal aspects and a novel autoencoder that is trained to implicitly recover the spatial structure of the human skeleton via randomly removing information about joints during training. This Dropout Autoencoder (DAE) is then used to filter each predicted pose by a 3-layer LSTM network, reducing accumulation of correlated error and hence drift over time. Furthermore to alleviate insufficiency of commonly used quality metric, we propose a new evaluation protocol using action classifiers to assess the quality of synthetic motion sequences. The proposed protocol can be used to assess quality of generated sequences of arbitrary length. Finally, we evaluate our proposed method on two of the largest motion-capture datasets available and show that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art techniques on a variety of actions, including cyclic and acyclic motion, and that it can produce natural looking sequences over longer time horizons than previous methods.
Spatial relationship preserving character motion adaptation

This paper presents a new method for editing and retargeting motions that involve close interactions between body parts of single or multiple articulated characters, such as dancing, wrestling, and sword fighting, or between characters and a restricted environment, such as getting into a car. In such motions, the implicit spatial relationships between body parts/objects are important for capturing the scene semantics. We introduce a simple structure called an interaction mesh to represent such spatial relationships. By minimizing the local deformation of the interaction meshes of animation frames, such relationships are preserved during motion editing while reducing the number of inappropriate interpenetrations. The interaction mesh representation is general and applicable to various kinds of close interactions. It also works well for interactions involving contacts and tangles as well as those without any contacts. The method is computationally efficient, allowing real-time character control. We demonstrate its effectiveness and versatility in synthesizing a wide variety of motions with close interactions.
A Data‐Driven Framework for Visual Crowd Analysis

We present a novel approach for analyzing the quality of multi‐agent crowd simulation algorithms. Our approach is data‐driven, taking as input a set of user‐defined metrics and reference training data, either synthetic or from video footage of real crowds. Given a simulation, we formulate the crowd analysis problem as an anomaly detection problem and exploit state‐of‐the‐art outlier detection algorithms to address it. To that end, we introduce a new framework for the visual analysis of crowd simulations. Our framework allows us to capture potentially erroneous behaviors on a per‐agent basis either by automatically detecting outliers based on individual evaluation metrics or by accounting for multiple evaluation criteria in a principled fashion using Principle Component Analysis and the notion of Pareto Optimality. We discuss optimizations necessary to allow real‐time performance on large datasets and demonstrate the applicability of our framework through the analysis of simulations created by several widely‐used methods, including a simulation from a commercial game.
The effect of topical 0.05% cyclosporine on recurrence following pterygium surgery

Purpose: To investigate the role of postoperative topical 0.05% cyclosporine A (CsA) eye drops (Restasis®, Allergan Pharmaceutical) in the prevention of recurrence among patients with primary pterygium treated with bare-sclera technique. Methods: In this prospective randomized controlled study, 36 eyes (34 patients) with primary pterygium were randomized into two groups: Group I comprised 18 eyes (18 patients), and Group II comprised 18 eyes (16 patients). Bare sclera technique was performed in both groups. In Group I, 0.05% CsA was administered postoperatively at 6-hour intervals for 6 months, and Group II did not receive any cyclosporine treatment. The patients were assessed for recurrence, side effects, and complications at postoperative 1 and 7 days as well as each month during the following year. Conjunctival advances which showed a limbus higher than 1 mm were recognized as recurrence. Results: Recurrence occurred in four patients (22.2%) in Group I and in eight (44.4%) patients in Group II. Conclusion: Postoperative application of low-dose CsA can be effective for preventing recurrences after primary pterygium surgery.