Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Gift without Shortcomings: Healers Negotiating the Intersection of the Local and Global in the Context of HIV/AIDS

Abstract The paper will examine the idea of citizenship from the point of view of two healers, an inyanga and isangoma, one of whom is HIV positive, who live in the remote Okhahlamba region of South Africa. It will therefore provide a view of citizenship from below. The ways in which both healers explore their relationship with the world beyond Okhahlamba illustrates their personal wanderings beyond local environments and the ambivalence with which the wider world is viewed – a common perception of many rural dwellers whose lives, nevertheless, intersect with wider worlds due to migrancy: the experience of the inadequacies of local government, formal health and social welfare provision, and the arrival of international ARV programmes. Healer narratives suggest ways in which rural communities in South Africa claim an otherness in relation to wider worlds, an otherness that reiterates identities of difference in relation to wider structures of governance. Local explanations for the HIV/AIDS pandemic are outlined and are given meaning through being placed within the experience of how the divided and divisive history of South Africa continues to haunt present constructions of worlds and notions of identity in response to widespread death and the politicisation of dis-ease.
Robust Point Set Registration Using Gaussian Mixture Models

In this paper, we present a unified framework for the rigid and nonrigid point set registration problem in the presence of significant amounts of noise and outliers. The key idea of this registration framework is to represent the input point sets using Gaussian mixture models. Then, the problem of point set registration is reformulated as the problem of aligning two Gaussian mixtures such that a statistical discrepancy measure between the two corresponding mixtures is minimized. We show that the popular iterative closest point (ICP) method and several existing point set registration methods in the field are closely related and can be reinterpreted meaningfully in our general framework. Our instantiation of this general framework is based on the the L2 distance between two Gaussian mixtures, which has the closed-form expression and in turn leads to a computationally efficient registration algorithm. The resulting registration algorithm exhibits inherent statistical robustness, has an intuitive interpretation, and is simple to implement. We also provide theoretical and experimental comparisons with other robust methods for point set registration.
Characterization of the elastic properties of the nuclear envelope

Underlying the nuclear envelope (NE) of most eukaryotic cells is the nuclear lamina, a meshwork consisting largely of coiled-coil nuclear intermediate filament proteins that play a critical role in nuclear organization and gene expression, and are vital for the structural stability of the NE/nucleus. By confocal microscopy and micromanipulation of the NE in living cells and isolated nuclei, we show that the NE undergoes deformations without large-scale rupture and maintains structural stability when exposed to mechanical stress. In conjunction with image analysis, we have developed theory for a two-dimensional elastic material to quantify NE elastic behaviour. We show that the NE is elastic and exhibits characteristics of a continuous two-dimensional solid, including connections between lamins and the embedded nuclear pore complexes. Correlating models of NE lateral organization to the experimental findings indicates a heterogeneous lateral distribution of NE components on a mesoscopic scale.
Cross-Cultural Depression Recognition from Vocal Biomarkers

No studies have investigated cross-cultural and cross-language characteristics of depressed speech. We investigated the generalisability of a vocal biomarker-based approach to depression detection in clinical interviews recorded in three countries (Australia, the USA and Germany), two languages (German and English) and different accents (Australian and American). Several approaches to training and testing within and between datasets were evaluated. Using the same experimental protocol separately within each dataset, (cross-classification) accuracy was high. Combining datasets, high accuracy was high again and consistent across language, recording environment, and culture. Training and testing between datasets, however, attenuated accuracy. These finding emphasize the importance of heterogeneous training sets for robust depression detection.
Avaliação da interação de crianças em pátios de escolas infantis: uma abordagem da psicologia ambiental

The physical-spatial aspects of environments and their relation to subjectivity and human behavior have been increasingly studied by psychologists. Thus, this study investigated the relationship between playgrounds of two public preschools of Porto Alegre and the interaction of 50 5 to 6 year-old children who were enrolled in these schools. Children were observed at the playgrounds, which presented differences in terms of area (size), density and materials. The interaction states observed were related to types of play and toys used. Results drawn from quantitative analyses showed that children established more associative and parallel interaction states in the large playground, and unoccupied and solitary in the small playground. As for the type of toy, the association of this aspect with the interaction in the large playground was smaller than in the small one. A higher association between interactions and types of play in the small playground was found. The study shows that concerning environmental aspects the large playground favors a variety of interactions states.
A systematic review of the association between lower urinary tract symptoms and falls, injuries, and fractures in community-dwelling older men

Abstract Background: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) have been associated with falls in studies either exclusively or predominantly of women. It is, therefore, less clear if LUTS are risk factors for falls in men. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the association between LUTS and falls, injuries, and fractures in community-dwelling older men. Medline, Embase, and Cinahl were searched for any type of observational study that has been published in a peer-reviewed journal in English language. Studies were excluded if they did not report male-specific data or targeted specific patient populations. Results were summarized qualitatively. Results: Three prospective cohort studies and six cross-sectional studies were identified. Incontinence, urgency, nocturia, and frequency were consistently shown to have weak to moderate association with falls (the point estimates of odds ratio and relative risk ranged from 1.31 to 1.67) in studies with low risk of bias for confounding. Only frequency was shown to be associated with fractures. Conclusions: Urinary incontinence and lower urinary tract storage symptoms are associated with falls in community-dwelling older men. The circumstances of falls in men with LUTS need to be investigated to generate hypotheses about what types of interventions may be effective in reducing falls.
Microcomputer-based attentional retraining after brain damage: A randomised group controlled trial

Abstract Thirty-one patients showing attentional deficits after acute onset brain injury were allocated randomly to two groups; 17 subjects received computerised attentional retraining and 14 received recreational computing. Although there were only minor differences in attentional function at the end of training, by 6-month follow-up the experimental group performed better on two tests related plausibly to attentional function, namely PASAT and the arithmetic subtest of the WAIS-R.
Changes in nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA in regenerating mouse liver.

The nucleus of a mammalian cell contains most of the cellular DNA and is the site of synthesis of a variety of RNA molecules. \Iany of these are transferred to the cytoplasm to play various roles in protein synthesis. However, many lines of evidence suggest that this transport is selective, leaving many of the RNA molecules in the cell nucleus. The earlier kinetic studies of Harris1 are more consistent with some turnover of RNA within the nucleus than with obligatory transfer to the cytoplasm. Analyses of rapidly labeled nuclear RNA in HeLa cells by sedimentation methods reveal much greater amounts of polydisperse RNA than would be expected if it were all precursor to cytoplasmic messenger.2 Further evidence for nuclear RNA turnover comes from experiments with nucleated avian erythrocytes.3 Hybridization studies established that certain kinds of RNA molecules present in the nucleus of mouse L-cells are absent in the cytoplasm.4 Furthermore, the RNA restricted to the cell nucleus is considerably more diverse than cytoplasmic RNA.4 All of these results suggest a mechanism of control involving transport to the nucleus by which only some of those RNA molecules transcribed reach the cytoplasm to be translated into protein. Earlier experiments using total liver RNA demonstrated a pattern of changes in the transcription of RNA immediately following partial hepatectomy.5 Similar experiments using fractionated nuclear RNA synthesized at later stages of regeneration show less-dramatic changes.6 In view of the magnitude of the differences in the synthesis of total RNA, this system offers itself as a convenient vehicle for comparative studies of nuclear RNA synthesis and its transfer to the cytoplasm. The question may be asked whether the response to partial hepatectomy involves predominantly the synthesis of new cytoplasmic messenger RNA's for the protein synthesis which occurs later or whether concomitant changes in the RNA molecules restricted to the cell nucleus are also evident.
Creating a New Genre: Contextual Dimensions in the Production and Transmission of Early Scientific Writing

This paper focuses on the earliest phases in the creation of the vernacular genre of scientifi c writing in English. During the fourteenth and fi fteenth centuries, sophisticated scientifi c treatises, which had previously circulated exclusively in Latin, became available for the fi rst time in English, most of them translated from Latin source texts.1 The translators of these texts faced the task of creating new generic conventions to transmit technical and theoretical knowledge which in many cases had never been written down in the language before; in addition to creating structural conventions for writing science in English, the translators also had to create vernacular terminology for scientifi c concepts. My aim is to discuss some cultural and sociohistorical factors which infl uenced the production and transmission of early vernacular scientifi c texts and are refl ected in their texture at various structural levels. My examples of textual encoding of contextual dimensions come from a single fi fteenth century medical text, but the same relationship between language and context can be verifi ed in other scientifi c texts of the period.
Social Goals, Academic Goals, and Avoiding Seeking Help in the Classroom

Why do some students avoid seeking help with their class work when it is needed? Investigated in this study were the relations between early adolescents' academic and social goals and reports of avoiding help-seeking and perceiving that help-seeking is a threat to self-worth. Surveys were administered to 443 fifth graders in 12 elementary schools. Being oriented to demonstrating ability (relative ability goals) and wanting to be associated with the popular group (social status goals) were related positively to perceiving threat and avoiding help-seeking. Being oriented to developing ability (task-focused goals) was related negatively to perceiving threat and avoiding help-seeking. Wanting to form positive relationships with peers (intimacy goals) was related negatively to avoiding help-seeking. There was a significant Grade Point Average x Relative Ability Goals interaction, indicating that lower-achieving students with relative ability goals were more likely to avoid help-seeking than were higher-achieving students.
The Tree of Experience in the Forest of Information: Overweighing Personal Relative to Vicarious Experience *

Standard models of choice assume that the weight given to information from different sources depends exclusively on its diagnosticity. In this paper we study whether directly experienced information influences behavior more strongly than vicariously obtained information. We conducted two experiments that, unlike prior studies, maintain content, format and relevance of the information constant, while varying only its source. The experiments consisted of repeated games in which groups of players were randomly reassigned into groups every round and were informed of the behavior of all players. As predicted, subjects’ behavior was more strongly influenced by the actions of players they directly interacted with than by those they only observed.
MANAGERIAL RESPONSES TO MERGERS AND OTHER JOB CHANGES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Recent research shows that organisational mergers are distressing for managers. This study compares the perceptions of managers who have undergone an organisational merger with those of managers who have experienced other types of job change. An analysis of psychological responses to work and to the organisation suggests that previous reports of adversity are overstated. Managers′ responses to mergers appear to be similar to experiences of other job changes.
A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial on Once-Daily Atomoxetine Hydrochloride in Taiwanese Children and Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of the once-daily atomoxetine compared with placebo in pediatric patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Taiwan. Method: The study sample included 106 patients aged 6–16 years who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) criteria of ADHD randomly assigned to atomoxetine once daily (n = 72) and placebo once daily (n = 34) in a double-blind, 6-week treatment study. The primary efficacy measure was the total score of the ADHD Rating Scale-IV Parents Version: Investigator Administered and Scored. The secondary efficacy measures included the Clinical Global Impressions–ADHD–Severity and Chinese Conner's Parent and Teacher Rating Scale–Revised: Short Form. Data were analyzed on an intent-to-treat basis and a last-observation-carried-forward approach. Results: The two treatment groups did not differ in demographics and baseline measures. Compared to the placebo group.
Inferring Nonlinear Neuronal Computation Based on Physiologically Plausible Inputs

The computation represented by a sensory neuron's response to stimuli is constructed from an array of physiological processes both belonging to that neuron and inherited from its inputs. Although many of these physiological processes are known to be nonlinear, linear approximations are commonly used to describe the stimulus selectivity of sensory neurons (i.e., linear receptive fields). Here we present an approach for modeling sensory processing, termed the Nonlinear Input Model (NIM), which is based on the hypothesis that the dominant nonlinearities imposed by physiological mechanisms arise from rectification of a neuron's inputs. Incorporating such ‘upstream nonlinearities’ within the standard linear-nonlinear (LN) cascade modeling structure implicitly allows for the identification of multiple stimulus features driving a neuron's response, which become directly interpretable as either excitatory or inhibitory. Because its form is analogous to an integrate-and-fire neuron receiving excitatory and inhibitory inputs, model fitting can be guided by prior knowledge about the inputs to a given neuron, and elements of the resulting model can often result in specific physiological predictions. Furthermore, by providing an explicit probabilistic model with a relatively simple nonlinear structure, its parameters can be efficiently optimized and appropriately regularized. Parameter estimation is robust and efficient even with large numbers of model components and in the context of high-dimensional stimuli with complex statistical structure (e.g. natural stimuli). We describe detailed methods for estimating the model parameters, and illustrate the advantages of the NIM using a range of example sensory neurons in the visual and auditory systems. We thus present a modeling framework that can capture a broad range of nonlinear response functions while providing physiologically interpretable descriptions of neural computation.
The Effects of Global Education in the English Language Conversation Classroom.

Global education is the backbone of balanced teaching. This is also applicable in the second language teaching domain where its application could result in enhancing global awareness and the linguistic competence of learners. It is, however, important to consider the platform of teaching English to speakers of other languages where the participant’s content as well as task plays an important role in enhancing the learning curve. With the above as a theoretical background, this study puts global issues into practice within the content of a syllabus of English language teaching in an intermediate, multilingual and multi- cultural conversation class at the Institute Of Language Studies (IOLS), India, producing competent students. The effect of integrated global education in teaching English as a second language has been qualitatively evaluated throughout the course of the experiment. Global education issues are investigated, amalgamating the content-based and task-based language teaching methods as offshoots of the communicative approach. At the same time, the learners were also encouraged to think critically. After the instruction of the intended syllabus, participants basically showed a higher degree of awareness of global issues and the ability to analyze problems and apply critical thinking in their environment. They were also more effective and coherent in their class participation than in other classes.
Hard spheres: crystallization and glass formation

Motivated by old experiments on colloidal suspensions, we report molecular dynamics simulations of assemblies of hard spheres, addressing crystallization and glass formation. The simulations cover wide ranges of polydispersity s (standard deviation of the particle size distribution divided by its mean) and particle concentration. No crystallization is observed for s>0.07. For 0.02<s<0.07, we find that increasing the polydispersity at a given concentration slows down crystal nucleation. The main effect here is that polydispersity reduces the supersaturation since it tends to stabilize the fluid but to destabilize the crystal. At a given polydispersity (<0.07), we find three regimes of nucleation: standard nucleation and growth at concentrations in and slightly above the coexistence region; ‘spinodal nucleation’, where the free-energy barrier to nucleation appears to be negligible, at intermediate concentrations; and, at the highest concentrations, a new mechanism, still to be fully understood, which only requires small rearrangement of the particle positions. The cross-over between the second and third regimes occurs at a concentration, approximately 58 per cent by volume, where the colloid experiments show a marked change in the nature of the crystals formed and the particle dynamics indicate an ‘ideal’ glass transition.
Musculoskeletal Symptoms Related to Video Display Terminal Use

The occupational use of video display terminals (VDTs) has been associated with the increasing incidence of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders, often called cumulative trauma disorders. To guide clinical and policy decisions about the prevention and treatment of these VDT related disorders, valid and economic measures of total daily VDT use and VDT related job tasks such as data entry or editing will be important. In this study of newspaper reporters and copy editors (n=83), VDT use was measured with employee self reports and by sampling the work behaviors of a subsample of employees. Behavioral sampling estimated VDT use as a characteristic of the job as opposed to a characteristic of individual employee performance. Overall, the two techniques of measuring occupational VDT use compared favorably, with the exception that self reported hours of VDT use tended to exceed the hours of use estimated by behavioral observation for employees who were younger and those who reported greater job demands. The findings suggest that behavioral sampling is a valid technique for estimating VDT use as a job characteristic.
Mutuality and heart failure self-care in patients and their informal caregivers

Background: Heart failure is a progressive condition characterized by frequent hospitalizations for exacerbated symptoms. Informal family caregivers may help patients improve self-care, which may in turn reduce hospitalizations. However, little is known about how mutuality, defined as the quality of the patient–caregiver relationship, and caregiver burden affect self-care. Objective: This study examines the associations among mutuality, patient self-care confidence (beliefs in abilities to engage in self-care behaviors) and maintenance (behaviors such as medication adherence, activity, and low salt intake), caregiver confidence in and maintenance of patient care, and caregiver perceived burden. Methods: This study used cross-sectional baseline data from a multi-site randomized clinical trial of a symptom and psychosocial care intervention. Patient–caregiver dyads (N=99) completed self-report surveys of mutuality and self-care confidence and maintenance, and caregivers completed a measure of caregiver burden. Path analysis, with actor (effects within a person) partner (effects across the dyad) interdependence model paths and regression models were used to examine the associations among mutuality, caregiver burden, and self-care. Results: The majority of patients (M age=66, 21% female) and caregivers (M age=57, 81% female) were spouses (60%). The path model demonstrated significant actor effects; patients and caregivers with better mutuality were more confident in patient self-care (p<.05). Partner effects were not significant. Regression models indicated that caregivers with greater mutuality reported less perceived burden (p<.01). Conclusions: Mutuality in patient–caregiver dyads is associated with patient self-care and caregiver burden and may be an important intervention target to improve self-care and reduce hospitalizations.
An Evaluation of the Drug Resistance Project: A Comparison of Film Versus Live Performance Media

We provided a test of the Drug Resistance Strategies Project skills training. Four conditions—film and live performances, with and without postperformance discussions—and one control condition were compared as media for drug-training intervention. The performances used as stimuli for this study were created from interviews with teens who described drug resistance experiences. Content analyses of these interviews resulted in the REAL system for refusal: refuse, explain, avoid, and leave. Results indicate that both film and live performances were effective in decreasing self-reported use of drugs other than alcohol over a 1-month period. Discussion did not detract from training effectiveness and may have marginally improved the process by influencing other factors that mediate use.