Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Systematic Assessment of Smartphone Tools for Suicide Prevention

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death globally, and there has been a rapid growth in the use of new technologies such as mobile health applications (apps) to help identify and support those at risk. However, it is not known whether these apps are evidence-based, or indeed contain potentially harmful content. This review examines the concordance of features in publicly available apps with current scientific evidence of effective suicide prevention strategies. Methods Apps referring to suicide or deliberate self-harm (DSH) were identified on the Android and iOS app stores. Systematic review methodology was employed to screen and review app content. App features were labelled using a coding scheme that reflected the broad range of evidence-based medical and population-based suicide prevention interventions. Best-practice for suicide prevention was based upon a World Health Organization report and supplemented by other reviews of the literature. Results One hundred and twenty-three apps referring to suicide were identified and downloaded for full review, 49 of which were found to contain at least one interactive suicide prevention feature. Most apps focused on obtaining support from friends and family (n = 27) and safety planning (n = 14). Of the different suicide prevention strategies contained within the apps, the strongest evidence in the literature was found for facilitating access to crisis support (n = 13). All reviewed apps contained at least one strategy that was broadly consistent with the evidence base or best-practice guidelines. Apps tended to focus on a single suicide prevention strategy (mean = 1.1), although safety plan apps provided the opportunity to provide a greater number of techniques (mean = 3.9). Potentially harmful content, such as listing lethal access to means or encouraging risky behaviour in a crisis, was also identified. Discussion Many suicide prevention apps are available, some of which provide elements of best practice, but none that provide comprehensive evidence-based support. Apps with potentially harmful content were also identified. Despite the number of apps available, and their varied purposes, there is a clear need to develop useful, pragmatic, and multifaceted mobile resources for this population. Clinicians should be wary in recommending apps, especially as potentially harmful content can be presented as helpful. Currently safety plan apps are the most comprehensive and evidence-informed, for example, “Safety Net” and “MoodTools—Depression Aid”.
Role of Striatum in the Pause and Burst Generation in the Globus Pallidus of 6-OHDA-Treated Rats

Electrophysiological studies in patients and animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD) often reported increased burst activity of neurons in the basal ganglia. Neurons in the globus pallidus external (GPe) segment in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-treated hemi-parkinsonian rats fire with strong bursts interrupted by pauses. The goal of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that dopamine (DA)-depletion increases burst firings of striatal (Str) neurons projecting to the GPe and that the increased Str–GPe burst inputs play a significant role in the generation of pauses and bursts in GPe and its projection sites. To evaluate this hypothesis, the unitary activity of Str and GPe was recorded from control and 6-OHDA-treated rats anesthetized with 0.5–1% isoflurane. The occurrence of pauses and bursts in the firings of GPe neurons was significantly higher in 6-OHDA than in normal rats. Muscimol injection into the Str of 6-OHDA rats increased average firing rate and greatly reduced the pauses and bursts in GPe. Recordings from Str revealed that most of the presumed projection neurons in control rats have very low spontaneous activity, and even the occasional neurons that did exhibit spontaneous burst firings did so with an average rate of less than 2 Hz. In DA-depleted Str, neurons having stronger bursts and a higher average firing rate were encountered more frequently. Juxtacellular labeling revealed that most of these neurons were medium spiny neurons projecting only to GPe. Injection of a behaviorally effective dose of methyl-l-DOPA into the Str of 6-OHDA rats significantly increased the average firing rate and decreased the number of pauses of GPe neurons. These data validate the hypothesis that DA-depletion increases burst firings of Str neurons projecting to the GPe and that the increased Str–GPe burst inputs play a significant role in the generation of pauses and bursts in GPe. These results suggest that treatment to reduce burst Str–GPe inhibitory inputs may help to restore some PD disabilities.
Do Graduate Teacher Education Programs Change Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Inclusion and Efficacy Beliefs?

ABSTRACT This study compared changes in attitudes toward inclusion and efficacy of 98 general and 76 special education students completing their master’s degree. Data were collected at the beginning of the program, at the end of the first semester—upon completion of an Introduction to Inclusion course—and at the end of the program. Results indicated that, though attitudes toward inclusion became significantly more positive among special education students throughout the program, general education students’ attitudes became significantly more positive only after completion of the inclusion course but later significantly regressed. These findings support those of other studies that demonstrate improvements of attitudes after one course. Efficacy scores followed a similar pattern for general and special education students with significant increases from the beginning to the end of the program. Implications for elementary education programs for general educators are discussed, taking into account that all teachers should be prepared to teach all students.
EARLY BURSTS OF BODY SIZE AND SHAPE EVOLUTION ARE RARE IN COMPARATIVE DATA

George Gaylord Simpson famously postulated that much of life's diversity originated as adaptive radiations—more or less simultaneous divergences of numerous lines from a single ancestral adaptive type. However, identifying adaptive radiations has proven difficult due to a lack of broad‐scale comparative datasets. Here, we use phylogenetic comparative data on body size and shape in a diversity of animal clades to test a key model of adaptive radiation, in which initially rapid morphological evolution is followed by relative stasis. We compared the fit of this model to both single selective peak and random walk models. We found little support for the early‐burst model of adaptive radiation, whereas both other models, particularly that of selective peaks, were commonly supported. In addition, we found that the net rate of morphological evolution varied inversely with clade age. The youngest clades appear to evolve most rapidly because long‐term change typically does not attain the amount of divergence predicted from rates measured over short time scales. Across our entire analysis, the dominant pattern was one of constraints shaping evolution continually through time rather than rapid evolution followed by stasis. We suggest that the classical model of adaptive radiation, where morphological evolution is initially rapid and slows through time, may be rare in comparative data.
Dynamics of Membrane Potential Variation and Gene Expression Induced by Spodoptera littoralis, Myzus persicae, and Pseudomonas syringae in Arabidopsis

Background Biotic stress induced by various herbivores and pathogens invokes plant responses involving different defense mechanisms. However, we do not know whether different biotic stresses share a common response or which signaling pathways are involved in responses to different biotic stresses. We investigated the common and specific responses of Arabidopsis thaliana to three biotic stress agents: Spodoptera littoralis, Myzus persicae, and the pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. Methodology/Principal Findings We used electrophysiology to determine the plasma membrane potential (Vm) and we performed a gene microarray transcriptome analysis on Arabidopsis upon either herbivory or bacterial infection. Vm depolarization was induced by insect attack; however, the response was much more rapid to S. littoralis (30 min −2 h) than to M. persicae (4–6 h). M. persicae differentially regulated almost 10-fold more genes than by S. littoralis with an opposite regulation. M. persicae modulated genes involved in flavonoid, fatty acid, hormone, drug transport and chitin metabolism. S. littoralis regulated responses to heat, transcription and ion transport. The latest Vm depolarization (16 h) was found for P. syringae. The pathogen regulated responses to salicylate, jasmonate and to microorganisms. Despite this late response, the number of genes differentially regulated by P. syringae was closer to those regulated by S. littoralis than by M. persicae. Conclusions/Significance Arabidopsis plasma membranes respond with a Vm depolarization at times depending on the nature of biotic attack which allow setting a time point for comparative genome-wide analysis. A clear relationship between Vm depolarization and gene expression was found. At Vm depolarization timing, M. persicae regulates a wider array of Arabidopsis genes with a clear and distinct regulation than S. littoralis. An almost completely opposite regulation was observed between the aphid and the pathogen, with the former suppressing and the latter activating Arabidopsis defense responses.
Differential Item Functioning of the Psychological Domain of the Menopause Rating Scale

Introduction. Quality of life could be quantified with the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), which evaluates the severity of somatic, psychological, and urogenital symptoms in menopause. However, differential item functioning (DIF) analysis has not been applied previously. Objective. To establish the DIF of the psychological domain of the MRS in Colombian women. Methods. 4,009 women aged between 40 and 59 years, who participated in the CAVIMEC (Calidad de Vida en la Menopausia y Etnias Colombianas) project, were included. Average age was 49.0 ± 5.9 years. Women were classified in mestizo, Afro-Colombian, and indigenous. The results were presented as averages and standard deviation (X ± SD). A p value <0.001 was considered statistically significant. Results. In mestizo women, the highest X ± SD were obtained in physical and mental exhaustion (PME) (0.86 ± 0.93) and the lowest ones in anxiety (0.44 ± 0.79). In Afro-Colombian women, an average score of 0.99 ± 1.07 for PME and 0.63 ± 0.88 for anxiety was gotten. Indigenous women obtained an increased average score for PME (1.33 ± 0.93). The lowest score was evidenced in depressive mood (0.50 ± 0.81), which is different from other Colombian women (p < 0.001). Conclusions. The psychological items of the MRS show differential functioning according to the ethnic group, which may induce systematic error in the measurement of the construct.
Bilateral Negotiation Model for Agent Mediated Electronic Commerce

One of the main issues in electronic commerce is the inclusion of the negotiation facilities commonly available in human client-vendor interaction in real world commerce. E-commerce negotiation processes have usually been modeled as self-interested multi-agent systems. In these systems buyers and sellers are represented by agents that have opposite demands and decide what to do on the flight, based on the available information. However, currently e-commerce systems, such as Kasbah and Magma [21], provide a small number of bilateral negotiation facilities. Fortunately, some general negotiation models could be at first applied to ecommerce domain. This is typically the case of Faratin’s model, which can be seen as an extension of Kasbah’s. In this paper, we propose an original bilateral agent negotiation model, which extends Faratin’s one. We introduce various facilities, such as alternative product suggestion, ultimatum generation, local contract agreements, etc. These facilities intend to grant users with a more flexible e-commerce environment. We present our model formalization, including the knowledge base that determines agent behavior. Some empirical validation is also presented to the case of computer purchase.
Navigation Networks : Biological Inspiration for Large-Scale Multi-Robot Navigation

We present a type of physical path planning using a large number of robots called a navigation network. In a navigation network, each robot senses stimuli and repeats its closest stimulus for others to sense, acting as a psuedo-stimulus. The brightness of the stimulus, or its magnitude, depends on the distance to the stimulus. The stimulus gets dimmer as it is propagated through the network. A robot can then find the true stimulus by hill-climbing, treating the pseudo-stimuli along the way as waypoints. The technique is a physical manifestation of asynchronous or distributed dynamic programming, a multi-agent approach to dynamic programming. [Ber82]. A navigation network uses a physical, situated, multi-agent system to approximate the entire state space of the path-finding problem. This approach to navigation does not rely on building maps, or even localization, just some way of sensing the other robots and being able to communicate with them. We explore how different communication strategies, team compositions, and team sizes impact performance of large-scale multi-robot navigation. We developed a minimal behavior-based robot control system inspired by biological creatures such as insects and slime molds for large-scale multi-robot navigation. The robots wander randomly until they encounter some stimulus and are then drawn to it. The state diagram for this is shown in figure 1. This behavior is commonly used in multi-robot tasks such as the foraging, consuming and grazing, as analyzed in [BA94].
Molecular gas in high-velocity clouds: revisited scenario

We report a new search for 12 CO(1–0) emission in high-velocity clouds (HVCs) performed with the IRAM 30 m millimeter-wave telescope. This search was motivated by the recent detection of cold dust emission (T ∼ 10.7 K) in the HVCs of Complex C, implying a total gas column density 5 times larger than the column density measured in H i and suggesting undetected gas, presumably in molecular form. Despite a spatial resolution which is three times better and sensitivity twice as good compared to previous studies, no CO emission is detected in the HVCs of Complex C down to a best 5σ limit of 0.16 K km s −1 at a 22 �� resolution. The non-detection of both the 12 CO(1–0) emission and of the diffuse H2 absorption with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer does not provide any evidence in favor of large amounts of molecular gas in these HVCs and hence in favor of the infrared findings. We discuss different configurations which, however, allow us to reconcile the negative CO result with the presence of molecular gas and cold dust emission. H2 column densities higher than our detection limit, N(H2) = 3 × 10 19 cm −2 , are expected to be confined in very small and dense clumps with 20 times smaller sizes than the 0.5 pc clumps resolved in our observations according to the results obtained in cirrus clouds, and might thus still be highly diluted. As a consequence, the inter-clump gas at the 1 pc scale, as resolved in our data, has a volume density lower than 20 cm −3 and already appears as too diffuse to excite the CO molecules. The observed physical conditions in the HVCs of Complex C also play an important role against CO emission detection. The sub-solar metallicity of 0.1−0. 3d ex affects the H2 formation rate onto dust grains, and it has been shown that the CO-to-H2 conversion factor in low metallicity media is 60 times higher than at the solar metallicity, leading for a given H2 column density to a 60 times weaker integrated CO intensity. And the very low dust temperature estimated in these HVCs implies the possible presence of gas cold enough (<20 K) to cause CO condensation onto dust grains under interstellar medium pressure conditions and thus CO depletion in gas-phase observations.
Defining a BMI Cut-Off Point for the Iranian Population: The Shiraz Heart Study

In this study we evaluated and redefined the optimum body mass index (BMI) cut-off point for the Iranian population based on metabolic syndrome (MeS) risk factors. We further evaluated BMI cut-off points with and without waist circumference (WC) as a cofactor of risk and compared the differences. This study is part of the largest surveillance programs conducted in Shiraz, Iran, termed the Shiraz Heart study. Our study sample included subjects between the ages of 20 to 65 years old. After excluding pregnant women, those with missing data and those with comorbid disease, a total of 12283 made up the study population. The participants underwent a series of tests and evaluations by trained professionals in accordance with WHO recommendations. Hypertension, abnormal fasting blood sugar (FBS), triglyceride (TG) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) (in the context of the definition of metabolic syndrome) were prevalent among 32.4%, 27.6%, 42.1 and 44.2% of our participants, respectively. Women displayed higher rates of overall obesity compared to men (based on the definition by the WHO as higher than 30 kg/m2). Regarding MeS, 38.9% of our population had the all symptoms of MeS which was more prevalent among women (41.5% vs. 36%). When excluding WC in the definition of MeS, results showed that males tend to show a higher rate of metabolic risk factors (19.2% vs. 15.6%). Results of multivariate analysis showed that parallel to an increase in BMI, the odds ratio (OR) for acquiring each component of the metabolic syndrome increased (OR = 1.178; CI: 1.166–1.190). By excluding WC, the previous OR decreased (OR = 1.105; CI: 1.093–1.118). Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the optimum BMI cut-off point for predicting metabolic syndrome was 26.1 kg/m2 and 26.2 kg/m2 [Accuracy (Acc) = 69% and 61%, respectively)] for males and females, respectively. The overall BMI cut-off for both sexes was 26.2 kg/m2 (Acc = 65%) with sensitivity and specificity of 69% and 62%, respectively. This cut-off had a positive predictive value of 54% and a negative predictive value of 76%. When we excluded waist circumference, the optimum BMI cut-off for acquiring metabolic risk factors in males decreased to 25.7 kg/m2 (Acc = 67%) and increased for women to 27.05 kg/m2 (Acc = 66%). Iranians are at higher risks of morbidity related to metabolic factors at a lower BMI cut-off and prompt action and preventive health policy are required to prevent and educate Iranians regarding diseases associated with obesity.
An Introduction to Pairing-Based Cryptography

Bilinear pairings have been used to design ingenious protocols for such tasks as one-round three-party key agreement, identity-based encryption, and aggregate signatures. Suitable bilinear pairings can be constructed from the Tate pairing for specially chosen elliptic curves. This article gives an introduction to the protocols, Tate pairing computation, and curve selection.
Personal profile of medical students selected through a knowledge-based exam only: are we missing suitable students?

Introduction A consistent body of literature highlights the importance of a broader approach to select medical school candidates both assessing cognitive capacity and individual characteristics. However, selection in a great number of medical schools worldwide is still based on knowledge exams, a procedure that might neglect students with needed personal characteristics for future medical practice. We investigated whether the personal profile of students selected through a knowledge-based exam differed from those not selected. Methods Students applying for medical school (N=311) completed questionnaires assessing motivations for becoming a doctor, learning approaches, personality traits, empathy, and coping styles. Selection was based on the results of MCQ tests. Principal component analysis was used to draw a profile of the students. Differences between selected and non-selected students were examined by Multivariate ANOVAs, and their impact on selection by logistic regression analysis. Results Students demonstrating a profile of diligence with higher conscientiousness, deep learning approach, and task-focused coping were more frequently selected (p=0.01). Other personal characteristics such as motivation, sociability, and empathy did not significantly differ, comparing selected and non-selected students. Conclusion Selection through a knowledge-based exam privileged diligent students. It did neither advantage nor preclude candidates with a more humane profile.
High-Performance Size-Based Microdevice for the Detection Of Circulating Tumor Cells from Peripheral Blood in Rectal Cancer Patients

Since individualized therapy becomes more and more important in the treatment of rectal cancer, an accurate and effective approach should be established in the clinical settings to help physicians to make their decisions. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), originated from either primary or metastatic cancer, could provide important information for diagnosis and monitoring of cancer. However, the implication and development of CTCs are limited due to the extreme rarity of these tumor cells. In this study we fabricated a simple and high-performance microfluidic device, which exploited numerous filtered microchannels in it to enrich the large-sized target tumor cells from whole blood. A very high CTC capture efficiency (average recovery rate: 94%) was obtained in this device at the optimum flow rate of 0.5 mL/h and channel height of 5 µm. Additionally, we used this device for detecting CTCs in 60 patients with rectal cancer. The CTC counts of rectal cancer patients were significantly higher than those in healthy subjects. Furthermore, the CTC counts detected by this device were significantly higher than those by EpCAM bead-based method for rectal cancer patients with various stage. Especially, for localized rectal cancer patients, the positive rates of samples with more than 3 CTCs per 5 mL blood by use of microdevice vs. EpCAM-based ones were 100% vs. 47%, respectively. Thus, this device provides a new and effective tool for accurate identification and measurement of CTCs in patients with rectal cancer, and has broad potential in clinical practice.
ScholarWorks at WMU ScholarWorks at WMU

: Home healthcare initiatives are aimed to reduce readmission costs, transportation costs, and hospital medical errors, and to improve post hospitalization healthcare quality, and enhance patient home independency. Today, it is almost unimaginable to consider this initiative without information technology. Home healthcare robots are one type of the emerging technologies that hold promise for making clinical information available at the right place and right time. Several robots have been developed to facilitate home healthcare such as remote presence robots (e.g., RP2) and Paro. Most previous research focus on technical and implementation issues of home healthcare robots, there is a need to understand the factors that influence their adoption. This research aims to fill this knowledge gap by applying the UTAUT model. The model was tested using survey questionnaire. The empirical results confirm that performance expectancy, social influence, and facilitating condition directly affect usage intention of home healthcare robots, while effort expectancy indirectly affects usage intention through performance expectancy. Several practical and theoretical implications are also discussed.