Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ticketing aggressive cars and trucks (TACT): How does it work on city streets?

ABSTRACT Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of modifying the Ticking Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT) program, originally designed to work on state highways, within a metropolitan area to reduce unsafe interactions and their related crashes between drivers of large trucks and passenger vehicles. Methods: Using crash data, the driving behaviors most commonly associated with large truck and passenger vehicle crashes were identified. A public awareness campaign using media messaging and increased law enforcement was created targeting these associated behaviors. The frequency of these behaviors both before and after the public awareness campaign was determined through observation of traffic at 3 specific locations within the city. Each location had a sufficient volume of large truck and passenger traffic to observe frequent interactions. Pre- and postintervention data were compared using negative binomial regression with generalized estimating equations to evaluate whether the campaign was associated with a reduction in the identified driving behaviors. Results: A comparison between crash data from before, during, and after the campaign and crashes during the same time periods in previous years did not show a significant difference (P =.081). The number of large trucks observed in traffic remained the same during pre- and postintervention periods (P =.625). The rates of negative interactions per 100 large trucks decreased for both large trucks and passenger vehicles after the intervention, with calculated rate ratios of 0.58 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48, 0.70) and 0.31 (95% CI, 0.20, 0.47). The greatest reduction was seen in passenger vehicles following too close, with a rate ratio of 0.21 (95% CI, 0.15, 0.30). Conclusions: Although designed for reducing crashes on highways, the TACT program can be an effective approach for improving driver behaviors on city streets.
Ultrasound Speckle Image Velocimetry: Studies on System Performance and Application to Cardiovascular Fluid Dynamics

Knowledge of detailed blood flow characteristics can be extremely valuable in a variety of settings. Examples range from studying disease processes such as atherosclerosis to aiding in the design of medical devices such as prosthetic cardiac valves. For in vivo and optically inaccessible in vitro flows, accurate measurements of velocity fields and shear stresses can be difficult to obtain. Doppler ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging are the most commonly used techniques, but have important limitations. Recently, there has been increased interest in the application of particle image velocimetry principles towards tracking of ultrasound speckle patterns to determine multidimensional flow velocities with increased temporal resolution. We refer to our implementation as ultrasound speckle image velocimetry (USIV). In this research project, our first objective was to obtain a detailed characterization of the factors unique to ultrasound imaging that can influence the accuracy of velocity measurements. By conducting in vitro experiments with uniform speckle phantom translation as well as steady tube flow, we have shown that characteristics such as transducer focal depth and beam sweep speed as well as particle motion direction and velocity can all influence USIV results. Our second objective was to demonstrate the utility of USIV for analyzing in vivo blood flows. After administering ultrasound contrast agent to anesthetized pigs, we were able to obtain detailed images of both left ventricular flow and abdominal aortic flow. Velocity profiles were measured during both left ventricular filling and ejection. Our most interesting finding was the presence in certain cases of highly asymmetric retrograde flow in the infrarenal aorta. The factors that lead to such flows may have relevance to the development of atherosclerosis and abdominal aneurysms. USIV is likely to be very useful for further studies both in vivo and with in vitro elastic aorta models.
The adoption of agency business activity, product innovation, and performance in Chinese technology ventures

This study examines the roles of firm characteristics and environmental factors in the formation of interfirm alliances. Specifically, we examine the dual role of these groups of factors as inducements and opportunities for Chinese high-technology new ventures (HTNVs) in their adoption of agency business activity, a downstream type of alliance involving marketing and distribution of the products of foreign firms. Results suggest that both internal and external factors are related to the adoption of agency business activity but the inducement and opportunity value of environmental uncertainty may be dampened by institutional support provided to HTNVs. Further, we find that successful agency business activity is positively related to new venture performance but negatively related to its product innovation efforts. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Association Between Psychological Well-Being and Problematic Use of Internet Communicative Services Among Young People

ABSTRACT Previous studies on problematic Internet use have focused almost exclusively on the fact that presence of negative functioning, such as social anxiety, depressive symptoms, or loneliness, represents a risk factor for unhealthy use of the web. For this reason the aim of the present study was to investigate the association between psychological well-being dimensions and problematic use of Internet communicative services. In the current study 495 undergraduate students were recruited. The Italian adaptations of the Psychological Well-being Scales and the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 (GPIUS2) were used to assess psychological well-being dimensions and generalized problematic Internet use, respectively. Psychological well-being dimensions explained a significant portion of variance for the GPIUS2 total score levels, after controlling for sex, age, and occupational status. The levels of Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, and Positive Relations with Others acted as significant negative predictors of the tendency to use the web for regulating negative feelings, compulsive use of the web, and the negative outcomes that can arise as a result. The overall findings of the present study provide preliminary evidence that low psychological well-being is associated with problematic use of Internet communicative services.
Assessing the Effect of a Crop-Tree Intercropping Program on Smallholders’ Incomes in Rural Xinjiang, China

Governments in developing counties often promote intercropping (crops intercropped with fruit trees on cultivated land) schemes in order to improve smallholders’ income. However, the implementation of such schemes is often hindered by inappropriate institutional environments and inefficient project management. It is important to assess the impacts of such intercropping programs, especially since such a cultivation strategy can often align closely with smallholders’ livelihood strategies, particularly in poor and remote rural regions. This paper attempts to assess the impact of an intercropping program on participants’ incomes in rural Xinjiang (China), and to explore the possible shortcomings in the program’s design and implementation. We apply a propensity score matching method, based on a survey dataset of 352 households, supplemented with descriptive analysis based on our anecdotal field observations. The findings demonstrate that the intercropping program had negative effects on the incomes that participants derived from farming, their off-farm income and their gross income. Overall, participants experienced significant losses of income. Anecdotal observations show that land tenure insecurity played a crucial role in negating the anticipated income improvement effect of this program. Farmer’s perceptions that they have limited security of tenure made them reluctant to invest the necessary time and resources to make the new cropping systems a success, while the available subsidies only partially covered the costs involved. In addition, the program led to a significant drop in yields of field crops as the trees were competing for a limiting and fixed supply of irrigation water.
Ubiquitous cursor: a comparison of direct and indirect pointing feedback in multi-display environments

Multi-display environments (MDEs) connect several displays into a single digital workspace. One of the main problems to be solved in an MDE's design is how to enable movement of objects from one display to another. When the real-world space between displays is modeled as part of the workspace (i.e., Mouse Ether), it becomes difficult for users to keep track of their cursors during a transition between displays. To address this problem, we developed the Ubiquitous Cursor system, which uses a projector and a hemispherical mirror to completely cover the interior of a room with usable low-resolution pixels. Ubiquitous Cursor allows us to provide direct feedback about the location of the cursor between displays. To assess the effectiveness of this direct-feedback approach, we carried out a study that compared Ubiquitous Cursor with two other standard approaches: Halos, which provide indirect feedback about the cursor's location; and Stitching, which warps the cursor between displays, similar to the way that current operating systems address multiple monitors. Our study tested simple cross-display pointing tasks in an MDE; the results showed that Ubiquitous Cursor was significantly faster than both other approaches. Our work shows the feasibility and the value of providing direct feedback for cross-display movement, and adds to our understanding of the principles underlying targeting performance in MDEs.
Abundance and Single-Cell Activity of Heterotrophic Bacterial Groups in the Western Arctic Ocean in Summer and Winter

ABSTRACT Environmental conditions in the western Arctic Ocean range from constant light and nutrient depletion in summer to complete darkness and sea ice cover in winter. This seasonal environmental variation is likely to have an effect on the use of dissolved organic matter (DOM) by heterotrophic bacteria in surface water. However, this effect is not well studied and we know little about the activity of specific bacterial clades in the surface oceans. The use of DOM by three bacterial subgroups in both winter and summer was examined by microautoradiography combined with fluorescence in situ hybridization. We found selective use of substrates by these groups, although the abundances of Ant4D3 (Antarctic Gammaproteobacteria), Polaribacter (Bacteroidetes), and SAR11 (Alphaproteobacteria) were not different between summer and winter in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. The number of cells taking up glucose within all three bacterial groups decreased significantly from summer to winter, while the percentage of cells using leucine did not show a clear pattern between seasons. The uptake of the amino acid mix increased substantially from summer to winter by the Ant4D3 group, although such a large increase in uptake was not seen for the other two groups. Use of glucose by bacteria, but not use of leucine or the amino acid mix, related strongly to inorganic nutrients, chlorophyll a, and other environmental factors. Our results suggest a switch in use of dissolved organic substrates from summer to winter and that the three phylogenetic subgroups examined fill different niches in DOM use in the two seasons.
Dynamic Logic Programming

In this paper we investigate updates of knowledge bases represented by logic programs. In order to represent negative information, we use generalized logic programs which allow default negation not only in rule bodies but also in their heads.We start by introducing the notion of an update P (cid:8)U of a logic program P by another logic program U. Subse-quently, we provide a precise semantic characterization of P (cid:8) U, and study some basic properties of program updates. In particular, we show that our update programs generalize the notion of interpretation update. We then extend this notion to compositional sequences of logic programs updates P1(cid:8)P2(cid:8) :::, de(cid:28)ning a dynamic program update, and thereby introducing the paradigm of dynamic logic programming. This paradigm signi(cid:28)-cantly facilitates modularization of logic programming, and thus modularization of non-monotonic reasoning as a whole. Speci(cid:28)cally, suppose that we are given a set of logic program modules, each describing a di(cid:27)erent state of our knowledge of the world. Di(cid:27)erent states may represent di(cid:27)erent time points or di(cid:27)erent sets of priorities or perhaps even di(cid:27)erent viewpoints. Consequently, program modules may contain mutually contra-dictory as well as overlapping information.
Effects of nitrous oxide on minimum alveolar concentration of desflurane in dogs

Effects of nitrous oxide (N2O) on minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of desflurane were studied. For that purpose, 30 dogs were randomly allocated into two groups: desflurane group (GD) and N2O and desflurane group (GDN). GD animals received propofol to intubation, and 11.5V% of desflurane diluted in 100% O2. After 30 minutes, they received electric stimulus and if the animal did not react to stimulus, desflurane concentration was reduced by 1.5V%. This protocol was repeated at each 15 minutes, and stimulus was interrupted when voluntary reaction was observed. GDN dogs were submitted to diluent flow 30% O2 and 70% N2O. Desflurane’s MAC; heart (HR) and respiratory (RR) rates; systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressures (SAP, DAP, and MAP, respectively); end tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2); oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2) and body temperature (T) were evaluated. In both groups increase in HR and ETCO2, and decrease in RR and T were associated with administration of the highest dose of desflurane. Blood pressures decreased 30 minutes after desflurane administration in GDN, and after this measurement the values increased. Reduction in desflurane’s MAC was observed as well. It is concluded that N2O associated with desflurane reduced desflurane’s MAC by 16% with increase in HR and respiratory depression.
Central axons preparing to myelinate are highly sensitivity to ischemic injury

Developing central white matter is subject to ischemic‐type injury during the period that precedes myelination. At this stage in maturation, central axons initiate a program of radial expansion and ion channel redistribution. Here we test the hypothesis that during radial expansion axons display heightened ischemic sensitivity, when clusters of Ca2+ channels decorate future node of Ranvier sites.
Food supply chain integrity: the need to go beyond certification

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to establish a conceptual model adopted from a strategy-structure-performance paradigm for investigating the fit between the supply chain integration and halal food supply chain integrity and the impact of halal food supply chain integrity on firms’ performance in a Malaysian context. Design/methodology/approach This study comprises a sample of a halal manufacturing firm in Malaysia. A cross-sectional research design was used in this study. Data were gathered based on mailed and personally administered questionnaires. SmartPLS was used to analyse the 254 valid responses. Findings The research findings indicate that internal integration and strategy have positive impact on halal food supply chain integrity. The study results confirmed that customer integration and supplier integration contributes to halal food supply chain integrity. It also finds that halal food supply chain integrity has a significantly positive impact. Research limitations/implications The results suggested that a strategic collaboration with the supplier pivoted around the quality and integrity of the raw materials should be undertaken. Practical implications The results from this study supports that the managers should adopt all halal food supply chain integrity components to achieve a superior performance. Even though some of the components did not yield significant results in terms of their relationships with firms’ performance, these dimensions were generally related to the standardised industry requirements, such as certifications. Originality/value The findings are original and unique and are based on established theories from the literature on supply chain management practices. The research findings are useful to academics and policymakers interested in fostering a halal supply chain in Malaysia.
Psychiatric morbidity in spouses of patients with alcohol related disorders

Context: Alcohol dependence is on rise world over, especially in developing countries such as India. According to the World Health Organization, about 30% of Indians consume alcohol, out of which 4%–13% are daily consumers and up to 50% of them, fall under the category of hazardous drinking. Another worrying trend from India is that the average age of initiation of alcohol use has reduced from 28 years during the 1980s to 17 years in 2007. In India, alcohol abuse also amounts to huge annual losses due to alcohol-related problems in workplaces. This was a cross-sectional, noninterventional study which was carried out at the Department of Psychiatry, Sri Venkateswara Ramnaraian Ruia Government General Hospital (SVRRGGH), Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and nature of psychiatric morbidity in spouses of patients with alcohol-related disorders (ARDs). Methods: Study design - Hospital-based cross-sectional study. Study setting - Psychiatry Department of SVRRGGH, Sri Venkateswara Medical College, Tirupati. Study period - October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015. Study units - the spouses of adult patients attending the Department of Psychiatry, with a diagnosis of ARDs. After the ethical clearance from the Institutional Ethical Committee, the spouses of adult patients attending the Department of Psychiatry with a diagnosis of ARDs according to the International Classification of Diseases-10 classification of mental and behavioral disorders constitute the population for the investigation. After obtaining written informed consent from each of the concerned subjects, demographic details and history of psychiatric illness were noted as per the structured pro forma. Results: The age of the alcohol-dependent men and spouses of men with ADS ranged from 23 to 67 years (mean ± standard deviation [SD] 41.24 ± 10.101) and 21–60 years (mean ± SD 35.04 ± 8.98), respectively. Among the study population, 36.6% of alcohol-dependent men were in the age group of 31–40 years and 43.6% of wives were in between 31 and 40 years. Conclusion: The findings of association of duration of alcohol abuse by husband, marital life satisfaction, poor family support, low socioeconomic status with psychological morbidities in spouses of men of alcohol related disorder are in agreement with earlier studies. But community studies with adequate sample size are required to estimate the effect of these key determinants.
Application of Real-Time Loudness Models Can Improve Speech Recognition for Cochlear Implant Users

The aim of cochlear implant (CI) stimulation strategies is to appropriately encode the important aspects of sound into a pattern of electrical stimulation. Recent research using numerical models of loudness perception has identified that there are large differences between how loudness is encoded by existing CI sound-processing strategies and how loudness is experienced by normally hearing listeners. In this paper, we present a new CI sound-coding algorithm aimed at addressing these discrepancies. This strategy, named SCORE, uses models of electric and acoustic loudness to modify the output of an existing CI sound-processing scheme in real time, so that the loudness changes are more accurately represented in the patterns of electrical stimulation. Five subjects (six implanted ears) were tested for understanding of speech presented at relatively low levels in quiet conditions. Using SCORE, subjects demonstrated an average 8.8 percentage-point statistically significant improvement (p <; 0.02) in the number of words correctly identified relative to ACE, a commonly used stimulation strategy. These findings show that loudness changes over time are important for speech intelligibility, and that improving loudness coding in existing CI devices may lead to perceptual benefits.
Global mental health and its discontents: An inquiry into the making of global and local scale

Global Mental Health’s (GMH) proposition to “scale up” evidence-based mental health care worldwide has sparked a heated debate among transcultural psychiatrists, anthropologists, and GMH proponents; a debate characterized by the polarization of “global” and “local” approaches to the treatment of mental health problems. This article highlights the institutional infrastructures and underlying conceptual assumptions that are invested in the production of the “global” and the “local” as distinct, and seemingly incommensurable, scales. It traces how the conception of mental health as a “global” problem became possible through the emergence of Global Health, the population health metric DALY, and the rise of evidence-based medicine. GMH also advanced a moral argument to act globally emphasizing the notion of humanity grounded in a shared biology and the universality of human rights. However, despite the frequent criticism of GMH promoting the “bio”-medical model, we argue that novel logics have emerged which may be more important for establishing global applicability than arguments made in the name of “nature”: the procedural standardization of evidence and the simplification of psychiatric expertise. Critical scholars, on the other hand, argue against GMH in the name of the “local”; a trope that underlines specificity, alterity, and resistance against global claims. These critics draw on the notions of “culture,” “colonialism,” the “social,” and “community” to argue that mental health knowledge is locally contingent. Yet, paying attention to the divergent ways in which both sides conceptualize the “social” and “community” may point to productive spaces for an analysis of GMH beyond the “global/local” divide.
Abuse and Misuse of Prescription and Nonprescription Drugs from Community Pharmacies in Aden City—Yemen

ABSTRACT Background: The abuse and misuse of prescription and nonprescription or the so-called Over–The–Counter (OTC) drugs is a serious and growing public health problem worldwide. The increased availability of these drugs has contributed to a dramatic rise of inappropriate use. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate abuse/misuse of prescription and non-prescription drugs in community pharmacies in Aden city—Yemen and to gather information about suspected drug abusers in the community. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire randomly distributed to 200 community pharmacies (June–September 2013). Data were coded and analyzed using SPSS Results: A total of 170 pharmacists completed the questionnaire (85.0% response rate), more than half of which (57.7%) suspected drug abuse/misuse in their pharmacies. The top four suspected medications of abuse were Alprazolam, Ketoprofen, Tramadol, and antibiotics. Most participating pharmacists in this study (83.3%) noticed an increasing pattern of abuse/misuse. The majority of suspects of prescription and non-prescription drug abuse (64.1%) were either chewing Khat or carrying it while buying the drug from the pharmacists. Conclusion: Abuse/misuse of prescription and nonprescription drugs is present in community pharmacies in Aden and it is linked to the recreational use of Khat. Current methods for controlling the problem are ineffective, and better methods should be developed.