Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Taking the Pulse: perceptions of crime trends and community safety and support for crime control methods in the Canadian Prairies

The present study analyzed crime survey data extracted from the 2012 Saskatchewan Taking the Pulse survey on a sample of 1,700 adult Saskatchewan residents. The focus was on examining perceptions of crime trends, perceived effectiveness of various methods for controlling crime, and their sociodemographic correlates. The majority of survey respondents perceived crime in general to be on the rise (37%) or to have not changed at all (48%) over the last three years. Individuals who perceived crime to have decreased were significantly more likely to support alternatives to punishment as effective methods for reducing crime, while individuals who perceived crime to be on the rise were twice as likely to support the use of punitive methods. Perceptions of community safety were unrelated to preference for one crime reduction method over another. Education level was inversely related to crime trend perceptions (r = -.14) and preference for punitive methods to reduce crime (r = -.20). Finally, the results of logistic regression indicated higher levels of education, higher income, and perceptions of crime decreasing were all uniquely associated with a preference for alternatives to punishment in reducing crime. In these analyses, younger age was predictive of a preference for alternatives in reducing youth crime, while urban residential setting was associated with a preference for alternatives to punishment in reducing crime in general.
Yawning and subjective sleepiness in the elderly

Yawning is related to sleep/wake transitions and time of day, probably reflecting the time course of sleepiness. As aging modifies sleep–wake and sleepiness rhythms, we suppose that yawning frequency and its time course vary as a function of age. Thirteen aged healthy subjects (77.15 ± 4.09 years) and 12 young adults (24.41 ± 3.31 years) were instructed to keep their habitual sleep schedules for three consecutive work‐days, during which they were required to signal every yawning occurrence and to evaluate hourly their sleepiness level. Results showed that aged subjects yawn less frequently than young adults, particularly during morning and mid‐afternoon hours. The time course of yawning was different between the two age groups: aged subjects showed earlier morning peak and evening rise compared with young adults; in addition, aged subjects showed two minor peaks in‐between. Differences as a function of age in the time course of yawning were associated with differences in the time course of sleepiness. The only exception pertained to the early morning yawning peak, which was close to the awakening but it was not associated with high sleepiness in aged subjects. Our study discloses that aging modifies yawning frequency and its time course. Furthermore, as in the elderly yawning after the awakening is not associated with high sleepiness level as in young adult, we put forward that sleepiness level and the proximity of sleep/wake transitions could separately affect yawning.
Three-dimensional fast-recovery fast spin-echo MRCP: comparison with two-dimensional single-shot fast spin-echo techniques.

PURPOSE To retrospectively evaluate the technical quality of and the visibility of the biliary tree and pancreatic duct on magnetic resonance (MR) cholangiopancreatographic (MRCP) images obtained with a single-breath-hold three-dimensional (3D) fast-recovery fast spin-echo (FRFSE) sequence in comparison with conventional two-dimensional (2D) single-shot fast spin-echo (SSFSE) thin-section and thick-slab sequences. MATERIALS AND METHODS Institutional review board approval was obtained; informed consent was not required for this HIPAA-compliant study. MRCP was performed at 1.5 T in 53 consecutive patients (25 men and 28 women, aged 23-84 years). A single-breath-hold volume acquisition was performed by using the 3D FRFSE sequence and the conventional 2D SSFSE sequences. Two radiologists graded studies obtained with each sequence in a blinded fashion, and the paired Student t test was used to assess differences in technical quality, visibility of eight individual ductal segments of the biliary tree and pancreatic duct, and number of ductal segments visualized per patient. RESULTS Studies obtained with 3D FRFSE were of significantly higher technical quality than those obtained with thin-section 2D SSFSE (P < .02 for both readers). The 3D FRFSE maximum intensity projection reconstruction and 2D SSFSE thick-slab sequence proved statistically equivalent with regard to the overall visibility of the biliary tree and pancreatic duct and the number of ductal segments visualized per patient. In comparison with 2D SSFSE thin-section imaging, however, 3D FRFSE imaging produced an improved overall duct segment visibility grade of 0.45 on a three-point visibility scale (P < .001), with a corresponding average per-patient improvement of 1.9 out of eight possible fully visualized duct segments (P < .001). CONCLUSION The 3D FRFSE sequence shows promise for improved visibility of the pancreatic duct and biliary tree, compared with the conventional 2D SSFSE thin-section and thick-slab approach, while permitting the entire MRCP examination to be performed in a single breath hold.
GAMPS: compressing multi sensor data by grouping and amplitude scaling

We consider the problem of collectively approximating a set of sensor signals using the least amount of space so that any individual signal can be efficiently reconstructed within a given maximum (L∞) error ε. The problem arises naturally in applications that need to collect large amounts of data from multiple concurrent sources, such as sensors, servers and network routers, and archive them over a long period of time for offline data mining. We present GAMPS, a general framework that addresses this problem by combining several novel techniques. First, it dynamically groups multiple signals together so that signals within each group are correlated and can be maximally compressed jointly. Second, it appropriately scales the amplitudes of different signals within a group and compresses them within the maximum allowed reconstruction error bound. Our schemes are polynomial time O(α, β approximation schemes, meaning that the maximum (L∞) error is at most α ε and it uses at most β times the optimal memory. Finally, GAMPS maintains an index so that various queries can be issued directly on compressed data. Our experiments on several real-world sensor datasets show that GAMPS significantly reduces space without compromising the quality of search and query.
Mechanotherapy: how physical therapists’ prescription of exercise promotes tissue repair

Mechanotransduction is the physiological process where cells sense and respond to mechanical loads. This paper reclaims the term “mechanotherapy” and presents the current scientific knowledge underpinning how load may be used therapeutically to stimulate tissue repair and remodelling in tendon, muscle, cartilage and bone. The purpose of this short article is to answer a frequently asked question “How precisely does exercise promote tissue healing? ” This is a fundamental question for clinicians who prescribe exercise for tendinopathies, muscle tears, non-inflammatory arthropathies and even controlled loading after fractures. High-quality randomised controlled trials and systematic reviews show that various forms of exercise or movement prescription benefit patients with a wide range of musculoskeletal problems.1–4 But what happens at the tissue level to promote repair and remodelling of tendon, muscle, articular cartilage and bone? The one-word answer is “mechanotransduction”, but rather than finishing there and limiting this paper to 95 words, we provide a short illustrated introduction to this remarkable, ubiquitous, non-neural, physiological process. We also re-introduce the term “mechanotherapy” to distinguish therapeutics (exercise prescription specifically to treat injuries) from the homeostatic role of mechanotransduction. Strictly speaking, mechanotransduction maintains normal musculoskeletal structures in the absence of injury. After first outlining the process of mechanotransduction, we provide well-known clinical therapeutic examples of mechanotherapy–turning movement into tissue healing.
Theta-power Differences in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment Under Rest Condition and During Haptic Tasks

The aim of this study was to investigate spectral EEG theta-power during perceptive-cognitive demands in age-homogenous groups of subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), mild dementia (MDE), and a healthy control (CO) group. The present study includes 51 subjects (23 males, 28 females). We used the scales of the CDR (clinical dementia rating) to assign the subjects to the different groups. EEG data were collected during 10 minutes rest condition with eyes closed and during haptic perception test.The quality of the haptic reproductions differed significantly between CO and MCI, as well as between CO and MDE. The statistical comparison between EEG theta-power under rest condition and theta-power during haptic tasks revealed a significant decrease in theta-power during haptic tasks in all three groups over parieto-occipital regions. During haptic tasks, the theta-power was significantly different between CO and MDE over occipital regions and over parieto-temporal regions. A significant difference between CO and MCI was only revealed over right occipital regions (O2). Spectral theta-power during haptic tasks is a suitable measure to distinguish healthy subjects (CO) from patients with MCI respectively MDE. The results show that haptic tasks are sensitive to early perceptive-cognitive and functional deficits in patients with MCI.
Ein Motivationsschub durch die Ausbildung

Zusammenfassung. Bisherige Forschungsarbeiten zeigen, dass die Entwicklung von Zielorientierungen von kontextuellen Bedingungen abhangen kann. So wird beispielsweise ein Ruckgang der Lernzielorientierung nach dem Ubergang in die Sekundarstufe I berichtet (Anderman & Midgley, 1997). Schlechter werdende Passung zwischen Lernendem und Lernumgebung wird als mogliche Ursache fur den Ruckgang genannt. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wurde untersucht, ob und wie sich Zielorientierungen von Beginn der Sekundarstufe I bis nach dem Ubergang in die Sekundarstufe II bzw. in das Ausbildungssystem entwickeln. Analysiert wurden Daten von N = 650 Schulerinnen und Schulern sowie Auszubildenden zu drei Messzeitpunkten (Klasse 5, Klasse 6, Stufe 11 / 1. Ausbildungsjahr). Die Ergebnisse latenter Neighbor-Change-Analysen zeigen in beiden Gruppen eine Abnahme der Annaherungs- und Vermeidungsleistungszielorientierung. Die Lernzielorientierung nimmt in beiden Gruppen zu, wobei der Anstieg fur Auszubildende signifikant hoher ausfallt. Di.
Long-term serologic responses to the Pneumocystis jirovecii major surface glycoprotein in HIV-positive individuals with and without P. jirovecii infection.

BACKGROUND The immune responses to Pneumocystis jirovecii major surface glycoprotein (Msg) in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are poorly understood. METHODS We examined the sequential serologic responses to recombinant Msg carboxyl terminus fragments (MsgC1, MsgC3, MsgC8, and MsgC9) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in a cohort of individuals with HIV infection for the 5.5 years before death and autopsy. Analyses included mean antibody levels by status at death (Pneumocystis pneumonia, P. jirovecii colonization, or neither), factors associated with high antibody levels, and antibody responses before and after active Pneumocystis pneumonia. RESULTS Patients who died from Pneumocystis pneumonia had higher levels of antibody to MsgC8 than did patients who died from other causes. Previous episode of Pneumocystis pneumonia, geographic location, and age were independent predictors of high levels of anitbodies to most or all Msgs. Failure to take Pneumocystis pneumonia prophylaxis was associated with high levels of antibody to MsgC1. Patients who developed and recovered from active Pneumocystis pneumonia during the study exhibited an increase in serum antibody levels that persisted for months after the infection, whereas patients who developed another acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-defining illness did not. CONCLUSIONS Serum antibodies to Msgs are important markers of P. jirovecii infection in patients with HIV infection and are influenced by host and environmental factors in complex ways.
Narratives of identity and sociocultural worldview in song texts of the Ham of Nigeria: A discourse analysis investigation

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Strong spectral dependence of light absorption by organic carbon particles formed by propane combustion

We have measured the extinction and absorption cross sections of carbon particles emitted by a propane diffusion flame both in an aerosol chamber and on size-segregated samples deposited on optical windows. The absorption cross section, the single scattering albedo, and the Angstrom exponent show drastic dependencies both on the C/O ratio and on the particle size. This is interpretated as being due to the appearance of nucleation modes of smaller organic particles at higher C/O ratios, which were detected by SMPS measurements and partially by TEM analysis. The spectral range of the validity of the absorption power-law (Angstrom exponent) model is investigated by vacuum ultraviolet extinction measurements. These measurements give also indications for a preferentially aromatic nature of the OC component of the flame products.
Preclinical Development b II-Tubulin and b III-Tubulin Mediate Sensitivity to Peloruside A and Laulimalide , but not Paclitaxel or Vinblastine , in Human Ovarian Carcinoma Cells

Increased abundance of bIIand bIII-tubulin isotypes in cancer cells confers resistance to vinca and taxoid site drugs; however, the role of these isotypes in the acquired resistance of cancer cells to non-vinca or nontaxoid site binding agents has not been described. Peloruside A (PLA) and laulimalide are the only known non-taxoid site microtubule-stabilizing agents. A human ovarian cancer cell line, 1A9-L4 (L4), previously selected in high concentrations of laulimalide, has both a single point mutation in bI-tubulin and overexpression of bIIand bIII-tubulin. The cells are highly resistant to PLA as well as laulimalide but show no cross-resistance to taxoid site drugs or drugs that bind to the vinca site on b-tubulin. To understand the functional significance of the bIIand bIII-tubulin changes in this resistant cell line, isotype-specific short interfering RNAwas used to knock down the expression of the bII and bIII isotypes, and the cellular effects of PLA and laulimalide were examined before and after silencing. It was found that inhibition of bIIand bIIItubulin partially sensitized L4 cells to PLA and laulimalide, as seen by increased potency of PLA and laulimalide for inducing growth inhibition, cellular tubulin polymerization, microtubule aberrations, and G2-M arrest in the resistant cells. The sensitivity to paclitaxel, vinblastine, ixabepilone, and cisplatin was unaffected by the inhibition of isotype expression. It was concluded that the increased bIIand bIII-tubulin contributed significantly to the resistance phenotype, along with the tubulin structural mutation, and that the altered isotype effect was binding site specific. Mol Cancer Ther; 11(2); 393–404. 2011 AACR.
Concerning Etags and Datestamps

In web archiving, avoiding unnecessary downloads of unchanged pages can significantly reduce the load on both the archiving system and the server being archived. However, the indicators available for determining whether a page is changed are frequently either missing or wrong, causing pages changes to missed. In this paper, we investigate the quality of the two change indicators defined in the HTTP protocol, Last-Modified and Etag. Based on downloads of front pages of Danish web sites, we compare the reliability and usefulness of the two indicators and consider if using a combination of the two can lead to better prediction of page changes. Finally, we present a systematic way to determine the best prediction scheme, and present an unexpected download scheme with better characteristics than the obvious choices.
Energy Efficient OFDMA Networks Maintaining Statistical QoS Guarantees for Delay-Sensitive Traffic

An energy-efficient design is proposed under specific statistical quality-of-service (QoS) guarantees for delay-sensitive traffic in the downlink orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access networks. This design is based on Wu's effective capacity (EC) concept, which characterizes the maximum throughput of a system subject to statistical delay-QoS requirements at the data-link layer. In the particular context considered, our main contributions consist of quantifying the effective energy-efficiency (EEE)-versus-EC tradeoff and characterizing the delay-sensitive traffic as a function of the QoS-exponent θ, which expresses the exponential decay rate of the delay-QoS violation probabilities. Upon exploiting the properties of fractional programming, the originally quasi-concave EEE optimization problem having a fractional form is transformed into a subtractive optimization problem by applying Dinkelbach's method. As a result, an iterative inner-outer loop-based resource allocation algorithm is conceived for efficiently solving the transformed EEE optimization problem. Our simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme converges within a few Dinkelbach algorithm's iterations to the desired solution accuracy. Furthermore, the impact of the circuitry power, the QoS-exponent, and the power amplifier inefficiency is characterized numerically. These results reveal that the optimally allocated power maximizing the EEE decays exponentially with respect to both the circuitry power and the QoS-exponent, while decaying linearly with respect to the power amplifier inefficiency.
Threshold Estimation of Jump-Diffusion Models and Interest Rate Modeling

We reconstruct the level-dependent diffusion coefficient of a univariate semimartingale with jumps which is observed discretely. The consistency and asymptotic normality of our estimator are provided in presence of both finite and infinite activity (finite variation) jumps. Our results rely on kernel estimation, using the properties of the local time of the data generating process and the fact that it is possible to disentangle the discontinuous part of the state variable through those squared increments between observations exceeding a suitable threshold function. We also reconstruct the drift and the jump intensity coefficients when they are level-dependent and jumps have finite activity, through consistent and asymptotically normal estimators. Simulated experiments show that the newly proposed estimators are better performing in finite samples than alternative estimators, and this allows us to reexamine the estimation of a univariate model for the short term interest rate, for which we find less jumps and more variance due to the diffusion part than previous studies.
Variability management with feature-oriented programming and aspects

This paper presents an analysis of feature-oriented and aspect-oriented modularization approaches with respect to variability management as needed in the context of system families. This analysis serves two purposes. On the one hand, our analysis of the weaknesses of feature-oriented approaches (FOAs for short) emphasizes the importance of crosscutting modularity as supported by the aspect-oriented concepts of pointcut and advice. On the other hand, by pointing out some of AspectJ's weaknesses and by demonstrating how Caesar, a language which combines concepts from both AspectJ and FOAs, is more effective in this context, we also demonstrate the power of appropriate support for layer modules.
Transient Decline in Hippocampal Theta Activity during the Acquisition Process of the Negative Patterning Task

Hippocampal function is important in the acquisition of negative patterning but not of simple discrimination. This study examined rat hippocampal theta activity during the acquisition stages (early, middle, and late) of the negative patterning task (A+, B+, AB-). The results showed that hippocampal theta activity began to decline transiently (for 500 ms after non-reinforced stimulus presentation) during the late stage of learning in the negative patterning task. In addition, this transient decline in hippocampal theta activity in the late stage was lower in the negative patterning task than in the simple discrimination task. This transient decline during the late stage of task acquisition may be related to a learning process distinctive of the negative patterning task but not the simple discrimination task. We propose that the transient decline of hippocampal theta activity reflects inhibitory learning and/or response inhibition after the presentation of a compound stimulus specific to the negative patterning task.
Stochastic House Appreciation and Optimal Mortgage Lending

We characterize the optimal mortgage contract in a continuous-time setting with stochastic growth in house price and income, costly foreclosure, and a risky borrower who requires incentives to repay his debt. We show that many features of subprime loans can be consistent with properties of the optimal contract and that, when house prices decline, mortgage modification can create value for borrowers and lenders. Our model provides a number of empirical predictions that relate the features of mortgage contracts originated in a housing boom and the extent of their modification in a slump to location and borrowers' characteristics. The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. , Oxford University Press.
A Parallel Processing Approach for Logic Module Placement

A parallel processing algorithm for logic module placement is presented. Conventionally, such placement problems have been solved on a single processor in a sequential manner. In this paper, it is shown that a two-dimensional processor array structure can be applied to the placement problem, resulting in a substantial reduction of the processing time. This parallel processing algorithm is based on the concept that the adjacent pairwise exchange method could be expanded to the parallel processing case. By using simulation programs, it is shown that the placement results obtained by the parallel processing algorithm are a little better than those obtained by the sequential algorithm. In addition, the theoretical estimations in respect to the processing cycle iterations correspond well with the simulation results.