Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Flexible displacement sensor using piezoelectric polymer for intelligent FMA

Recently, a variety of soft actuators have been developed. However, applicable sensors such as potentiometers and optical encoders generally have high stiffness. Therefore, a soft actuator loses its compliance when these sensors are used with the actuator. Thus, in this research, we have developed a flexible displacement sensor that can keep the compliance of a soft actuator. The fabricated flexible displacement sensor is composed of piezoelectric polymer, conductive paste and base rubber. Piezoelectric polymer: poly(vinylidene fluoride- trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF/TrFE)] was used for the detection of displacement and conductive paste was used for electrodes. An intelligent FMA (flexible microactuator) was developed by attaching these sensors. Displacement of the intelligent FMA and the sensor output voltage were compared, and sensing features were evaluated. Furthermore, servo control of the intelligent FMA using the sensor was performed. As a result, high positioning accuracy was verified.
Children's Social Competence, Peer Status, and the Quality of Mother- Child and Father-Child Relationships A Multidimensional Scaling Approach

This study examined links between parents’ and children’s interactive style at home and children’s social competence among peers defined in terms of both prosocial, aggressive, and isolate behavior and social success at school. Participants were 34 children (7–9 years of age) who were observed at home and videotaped twice during 10 min free-play dyadic interactions separately with their mother and father over a 2-week period. Interactions were coded on global measures of positive, negative, controlling, disconfirming, and correcting behaviors and neutral conversation. Sociometric techniques based on peer nominations were used to assess children’s behavioral orientations and social success at school. The structural relationship of the parental behavior categories and the links among this structure and children’s social competence among peers were analyzed both by traditional statistical methods and multidimensional scaling techniques. Mothers’ negative interactions and disconfirming correlated negatively w.
A saddle-point based approach for semi-analytical performance evaluation of a digital communication system

Nowadays, it has become difficult to obtain the expected performance of a digital communication system using the Monte Carlo simulation method. This is due to advanced technologies used in the transmitter and the receiver. In this paper, we propose a new semi-analytical approach for deriving the error probability. It combines the saddle-point approximation and bootstrap technique for estimating the probability density function. Simulation results show that the obtained semi-analytical error probability is close to that measured with Monte Carlo simulation and provides a significant gain in terms of computing time.
Oral Vaccination with Subunit Vaccines Protects Animals against Aerosol Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis

ABSTRACT Immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis depends largely on activation of cell-mediated responses, and gamma interferon has been shown to play a crucial role in this process in both humans and animal models. Since the lung is normally the organ in which infection is initiated and is the major site of pathology, immune responses in the lung play a significant role in restricting initial infection with M. tuberculosis. The aim of the present study was to stimulate efficient immunity in the lung by targeting the gut mucosa. Detoxified monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) has been shown to be a relatively nontoxic adjuvant which efficiently promotes the induction of type 1 responses when it is given by the traditional subcutaneous route. We have therefore compared subcutaneous immunization of mice to oral immunization by using a model subunit vaccine carrying two immunodominant proteins from M. tuberculosis, in combination with MPL-based adjuvants. While less effective when used to prime a response, a heterologous priming and boosting vaccination strategy employing oral boosting induced significant systemic type 1 responses which equaled and surpassed those attained by subcutaneous immunization protocols. Moreover, the increased immune responses observed correlated with the induction of substantial protection against subsequent aerosol infection with virulent M. tuberculosis at levels comparable to, or better than, those obtained by multiple subcutaneous vaccinations. These results demonstrate that booster vaccinations via mucosal surfaces, by combining efficient subunit vaccines with the potent adjuvant MPL, may be an effective method of addressing some of the shortcomings of current vaccination strategies.
Care-home providers as professionals: understanding the motivations of care-home providers in England

The financial and social climate in which the residential-care sector operates in the United Kingdom has changed substantially over recent years. This paper examines the underlying motivations for providing residential-care services for older people. We focus on the motivations of a sample of managers and owners of care homes drawn from eight English local authorities, and explore the intrinsic aspects of their motivations, particularly professional achievement, recognition and job satisfaction. The majority of the respondents' primary motivations were to meet the needs of older people and to accomplish professional achievements. Their caring motivations had four principal components, which were labelled professional, financial, client-specific and client-generic, and as for their professional motivations, the interviewees reported high levels of job satisfaction. The respondents were satisfied with their career choice and felt that, through their work, they were contributing to society. The study identified several personal and external factors that influenced the providers' intrinsic motivations and professional aspirations. The presented evidence suggests that if future policies are to improve the quality of care-home services, it is essential that they also incorporate the professional needs of care-home providers.
When Too Little or Too Much Hurts: Evidence for a Curvilinear Relationship Between Task Conflict and Innovation in Teams

Past work leaves open whether conflict helps or hinders team innovation. Reconciling this inconsistency, Study 1 showed that work teams were more innovative when the level of task conflict was moderate instead of low or high. Study 2 showed that this curvilinear effect exists for task conflict, but not for relationship conflict, and that the effects of task conflict are mediated by collaborative problem solving. Study 2 also showed that although moderate levels of task conflict may promote team innovation, it simultaneously reduces short-term goal attainment in teams. Implications for conflict (management) theory and work on innovation are discussed.
Value Iteration Networks

We introduce the value iteration network (VIN): a fully differentiable neural network with a `planning module' embedded within. VINs can learn to plan, and are suitable for predicting outcomes that involve planning-based reasoning, such as policies for reinforcement learning. Key to our approach is a novel differentiable approximation of the value-iteration algorithm, which can be represented as a convolutional neural network, and trained end-to-end using standard backpropagation. We evaluate VIN based policies on discrete and continuous path-planning domains, and on a natural-language based search task. We show that by learning an explicit planning computation, VIN policies generalize better to new, unseen domains.
The relationship between motor deficit and primary motor cortex hemispheric activation balance after stroke: longitudinal fMRI study

Background In the chronic stage of stroke, previous work has shown that the worse the hand motor deficit, the greater the shift of primary motor cortex (M1) activation towards the contralesional hemisphere (ie, unphysiological) balance. Whether the same relationship applies at earlier stages of recovery in serially studied patients is not known. Methods fMRI of fixed-rate auditory-cued affected index-thumb tapping was obtained at two time points (mean 36 and 147 days poststroke) in a cohort of nine patients with ischaemic stroke (age: 56±9 years; three women/six men; seven subcortical, one medullary and one cortical). On each fMRI day, the unaffected/affected ratio of maximal index tapping rate (IT-R) was obtained. To assess the M1 hemispheric activation balance, the authors computed the classic Laterality Index (LI). The correlation between LI and IT-R was computed for each time point separately. Results The expected correlation between LI-M1 and IT-R, that is, motor performance worse with more unphysiological LI, prevailed at both time points (Kendall p=0.008 and 0.058, respectively), with no statistically significant difference between the two regressions. The same analysis for the dorsal premotor cortex and the supplementary motor area showed no significant correlation at either time-point. Conclusion These results from a small cohort of longitudinally assessed patients suggest that the relationship between M1 laterality index and hand motor performance appears independent of time since onset of stroke. This in turn may suggest that attempting to restore the hemispheric balance by enhancing ipsilesional M1 and/or constraining contralesional M1 activity may have consistent efficacy throughout recovery.
Microarray analysis of New Green Cocoon associated genes in silkworm, Bombyx mori

Green cocoons in silkworm, Bombyx mori, are caused by flavonoids accumulation in the silk proteins, fibroin and sericin. Despite the economic value of natural green cocoon and medical value of flavonoids, there is limited understanding of the molecular mechanism regulating flavonoids uptake in silkworm, which is tightly associated with the trait of green cocoon. The purpose of this study is to perform a comprehensive analysis to understand the molecular mechanisms of flavonoids uptake in silkworm based on microarray analyses. The study subject was the New Green Cocoon from the silkworm strains, G200 and N100, a new spontaneous dominant green cocoon trait identified in the 2000s. The genes regulating this trait are independent of other green cocoon genes previously reported. Genome‐wide gene expression was compared between the New Green Cocoon producing silkworm strains, G200 and N100, and the control sample, which is the white cocoon producing strain 872B. Among these strains, N100 and 872B are near‐isogenic lines. The results showed that 130 genes have consistently changing expression patterns in the green cocoon strains when compared with the white cocoon strain. Among these, we focused on the genes related to flavonoids metabolism and absorption, such as sugar transporter genes and UDP‐glucosyltransferase genes. Based on our findings, we propose the potential mechanisms for flavonoids absorption and metabolism in silkworm. Our results imply that silkworm might be used as an underlying model for flavonoids in pharmaceutical research.
Association between complementary feeding practice and mothers education status in Islamabad.

OBJECTIVES To examine the association between mother's education, complementary feeding practices and malnutrition amongst mothers attending outpatient clinics in Islamabad. METHODS Mothers of 500 Pakistani infants attending the Paediatric Outpatient department at the Federal Government Services Hospital, Islamabad completed pretested questionnaires on mother's educational status and complementary feeding practices. RESULTS A positive relationship was found between the nutritional status of infants and educational status of mothers (P < 0.001). The study revealed that the majority of infants with evidence of malnutrition belonged to the mothers with virtually no school education. A similar relationship was observed between the educational status of respondents and the introduction of complementary foods at an appropriate age (6 months) of infants (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Mother's education plays a vital role in increased receptivity to knowledge and awareness related to nutritional requirements of their infants.
The landscape of post-imperial whiteness in rural Britain

Abstract Rural racism is a serious political problem and this paper explores the conditions of its production. Most significant among conditions producing racism is not the management of racialized otherness, as many writers contend, but the fabrication of white Britishness itself in the peculiar, shifting, social alchemy of rural life and landscape. Particularly important in the production of rural whiteness is the ‘Raj factor’; the contribution of returnees, retired from service in the British Empire. These lives are expatriated from Britain, forged in the social relations and landscapes of empire, and then repatriated. This paper is about the intimate place of empire in rural South Devon and the production and re-inscription of practices of empire which cohere with the fabric of rural life. It argues that these elderly returnees add a tone, an inflection, in the social production of whiteness as place and human fabric, and that this is significant in the production of rural racism.
Directed graphs and rectangular layouts

This paper deals with the problem, arising in practice, of drawing a directed graph as a collection of disjoint, isothetic rectangles, where the rectangles of the nodes of each edge must touch and where the placement of the rectangles respects the ordering of the edges. It provides characterizations for those graphs having the special type of rectangular layout known as a rectangular dual. It then characterizes the st-graphs having rectangular layouts in terms of the existence of certain planar embeddings and the non-existence of a particular subgraph.
Effects of long-term periodized resistance training on body composition, leptin, resistin and muscle strength in elderly post-menopausal women.

AIM Objective of the study was to determine the effects of a periodized resistance training program on body composition, plasmatic levels of leptin and resistin, and muscle strength in elderly post-menopausal women. METHODS Twenty-three post-menopausal women (age= 63.02±4.42 years; height 1.55±0.06 m; body mass 67.56±2.26 kg) were submitted to 12 months of periodized resistance training twice a week. The training program consisted of 3 sets of 6-14 repetitions maximal (RM). Body composition (DXA), muscle strength (bench press, leg press 45º and arm curl), plasmatic levels of resistin and leptin (ELISA method) were assessed before and after the training program. Paired Student's t test was used for comparison between pre- and post-training values. RESULTS There was a significant increase in muscle strength and lean body mass; decrease in body mass, body fat percentage and fat mass after 12 months of resistance training, a part from the decrease in leptin and resistin levels. CONCLUSION Long-term periodized resistance training prevents aging sarcopenia, decreases body fat and systemic markers of inflammation in postmenopausal elderly women.
Meta-analysis of Research on Class Size and Its Relationship to Attitudes and Instruction

Features of 59 studies of this relationship were coded and quantified and 371 findings were transformed into a common metric for statistical integration. Analysis, based on a logarithmic model, revealed a substantial relationship between class size and teacher and pupil attitudes as well as instruction. Favorable teacher effects (workload, morale, attitudes toward students) are associated with smaller classes as are favorable effects on students (self-concept, interest in school, participation). Smaller classes are associated with greater attempts to individualize instruction and better classroom climate. The results complement those of a previous meta-analysis that showed positive effects of class size on achievement.
Immunoglobulin abnormalities in multiple sclerosis. Relation to clinical parameters: exacerbations and remissions.

Increased relative concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of immunoglobulin G (lgG), immunoglobulin A (IgA), the two complement factors β 1c /β 1A globulins and β 1E globulin, and transferrin, were found in CSF specimens obtained during exacerbations of multiple sclerosis (MS), when compared with CSF specimens obtained during remission from the same patients. The absolute concentration of β-trace protein showed a tendency to increase in CSF during exacerbations. No significant differences of the γ-globulin band pattern were observed on comparison by agarose electrophoresis of CSF specimens from individual patients obtained during exacerbation and remission. Variations of the absolute concentrations of immunoglobulin light chain antigenic determinants of type kappa and lambda during exacerbations and remissions indicate the synthesis within the central nervous system of oligoclonal immunoglobulins with varying light chain type during different phases of the disease.
Interactions in Cuckoo's Nest: Elements of a Narrative Speech-Act Analysis

Something peculiar happens when Charlie Cheswick, one of the characters in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962), asks the ward’s head nurse about his cigarettes. The nurse controls the supply of cigarettes, and Cheswick does not relish that idea. However, his intended speech act, a complaint as well as a request, is ignored. Expressing the collective thought of the patients, he stresses that “[w]e want something done about it” (149). As he notices that his request does not have the desired effect nor the presupposed backup, he first increases the intensity of his request—shouting “I want something done! Hear me! ” (149) —and then flies into a rage. Whether he puts his speech act in a polite formula or in a very intensive exclamation, it is not accepted as a conventional act. The scene is symptomatic not only of Cheswick’s character development but also of the fictional interactions and textual dynamics in Kesey’s novel. Looking at the scene from this angle, we catch a glimpse of the way in which our understanding can improve by an analysis of the speech acts of characters and narrators. From its foundation in the work of J. L. Austin until today, the theory of speech acts has been living several lives, one of which is in the world of narrative studies. Many scholars, such as Seymour Chatman and Susan Lanser, have integrated aspects of the theory into narratology, and a number of them, such as Mary Louise Pratt, Michael Kearns and Reingard Nischik, have granted it a prominent and permanent position in their narratological models. They basically argue that what authors, narrators and characters do with words—i.e., the illocutionary force
Temporal trends in imaging and associated radiation exposure in inflammatory bowel disease

Increasing use of diagnostic imaging in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has led to concerns about the malignant potential of ionising radiation in a cohort that have an increased lifetime risk of gastrointestinal malignancy. The aim was to quantify radiation exposure in IBD patients referred from primary care, determine predictors of high exposure and evaluate temporal trends in diagnostic imaging over a 20‐year period.
Oleoylethanolamide and human neural responses to food stimuli in obesity.

IMPORTANCE Obesity has emerged as a leading health threat but its biological basis remains insufficiently known, hampering the search for novel treatments. Here, we study oleoylethanolamide, a naturally occurring lipid that has been clearly implicated in weight regulation in animals. However, its role for weight regulation and obesity in humans is still unclear. OBJECTIVE To investigate associations between plasma oleoylethanolamide levels and body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) and functional magnetic resonance imaging response to food stimuli in obese patients and matched control participants. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Case-control study of 21 obese patients and 24 matched control participants. Obesity was defined as having a BMI of at least 30. The mean age of participants was 40.8 years and BMIs ranged from 18.2 to 47.5. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Interactions between plasma oleoylethanolamide levels and obesity on BMI and functional magnetic resonance imaging response to food stimuli. RESULTS Associations between oleoylethanolamide and BMI differed significantly depending on whether individuals were obese or not (P = .02). In obese individuals, oleoylethanolamide showed a trend toward a positive correlation with BMI (P = .06, ρ = 0.42), while this relationship was inverse for nonobese control participants (P = .07, ρ = -0.34). Similarly, we found significant interactions between oleoylethanolamide levels and obesity on food-related brain activation in cortical areas associated with reward processing and interoceptive signaling (P = .009). Specifically, nonobese individuals with higher oleoylethanolamide levels had higher insular brain activity (P < .001, ρ = 0.70); again, the relationship trended to be inverse for obese patients (P = .11, ρ = -0.36). These effects were not associated with plasma levels of leptin and anandamide, suggesting an independent role of oleoylethanolamide in hunger-associated interoceptive signaling. Analysis of food craving during the functional magnetic resonance imaging task suggested that the identified brain areas may be involved in suppressing food-liking reactions in nonobese individuals. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study suggests that oleoylethanolamide-mediated signaling plays an important role for hedonic regulation of food craving and obesity in humans and thus may be a valuable target for developing novel antiobesity drugs.
Self‐Help, Policing, and Procedural Justice: Ghanaian Vigilantism and the Rule of Law

Public recourse to vigilante self-help has often been attributed to a lack of effective state intervention; less attention has been given to the character of this intervention. Using the Tylerian procedural justice perspective, I argue in this article that perceived procedural injustice contributes to increased public support for violent self-help mechanisms such as vigilante violence. The current study tests this theoretical argument using survey data of 374 residents of Accra, Ghana. The results show that age, education, and police trustworthiness were the most significant predictors of support for vigilante self-help. The impacts of procedural fairness were found to be embraced within police trustworthiness, but perceptions of police effectiveness and experience of police corruption were not statistically significant predictors of vigilante support.