Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A fuzzy Hopfield neural network for medical image segmentation

In this paper, an unsupervised parallel segmentation approach using a fuzzy Hopfield neural network (FHNN) is proposed. The main purpose is to embed fuzzy clustering into neural networks so that on-line learning and parallel implementation for medical image segmentation are feasible. The idea is to cast a clustering problem as a minimization problem where the criteria for the optimum segmentation is chosen as the minimization of the Euclidean distance between samples to class centers. In order to generate feasible results, a fuzzy c-means clustering strategy is included in the Hopfield neural network to eliminate the need of finding weighting factors in the energy function, which is formulated and based on a basic concept commonly used in pattern classification, called the "within-class scatter matrix" principle. The suggested fuzzy c-means clustering strategy has also been proven to be convergent and to allow the network to learn more effectively than the conventional Hopfield neural network. The fuzzy Hopfield neural network based on the within-class scatter matrix shows the promising results in comparison with the hard c-means method.
A clinical evaluation of children under the age of five years who are household contacts of adults with sputum positive tuberculosis in Harare, Zimbabwe.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence and risk factors for transmission of tuberculosis in children under five years of age who are household contact of sputum smear positive tuberculosis adults in Harare, Zimbabwe. DESIGN Cross sectional study. SETTING City Health Infectious Diseases Hospital Outpatient Department. SUBJECTS 174 children in contact with 102 index cases. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES TB infection status in children according to modified WHO classification of tuberculosis. METHODS Under five year old contacts of sputum smear positive TB adults were recruited over a three month period. A coded questionnaire was used to document the following: socio-demographic profile of caregivers, duration of stay with the index case and presenting complaints. Contacts were evaluated by clinical examination, Mantoux testing, HIV antibody testing and chest radiographs. RESULTS Of the 174 children in contact with 102 index cases evaluated, 109 (62.6%) were Mantoux positive (> or = 10 mm), 42% had abnormal chest X-ray, with hilar lymphadenopathy being the commonest abnormality. Forty nine percent of the children evaluated had probable TB, 28% had suspected TB and 23% had no TB. High alcohol acid fast load (AAFB) in the index case was independently associated with probable and suspected TB (OR 2.27 95% CI (1.05 to 4.87). CONCLUSION The documented high transmission rate among under five years contacts in the study justifies the need for strengthening contact tracing and appropriate therapeutic management of identified children.
OF PROSPECT THEORY : ACCOMPLISHMENTS , CHALLENGES

Acknowledgements: We would like to thank ABSTRACT We review management research drawing on prospect theory, focusing primarily on studies in strategic management and organizational behavior/human resource management. These studies have made valuable contributions to several prominent research streams. However, they commonly underutilize or misinterpret central arguments from prospect theory. Further, they illustrate that applying prospect theory in organizational settings poses several theoretical and methodological challenges. Thus, we review these studies, critically analyze them, and make suggestions to enrich future work. 3 Scholars have studied individuals' risk-taking decisions for centuries (Edwards, 1954). Many research questions in the social sciences involve such decisions. For example, risk is relevant to decisions as diverse as whom to marry, whether to select red or black at the roulette table, when a country should go to war, and how much insurance to buy. Historically, scholars relied heavily on normative models (e.g., expected value and expected utility theory) to explain both (a) the decisions individuals should make and (b) the decisions individuals actually make (Einhorn & Hogarth, 1981). Departing from the normative approach, Kahneman and Tversky (1979) offered a highly influential descriptive model of decision making under risk. This model, termed prospect theory (PT), explained findings from laboratory studies that documented how individuals' risk-taking decisions depart from the predictions of normative models. The elegance and apparent simplicity of PT led to its widespread adoption by scholars in many fields, including management. Indeed, over 500 articles in leading management journals 1 have cited Kahneman and Tversky (1979). We review management research drawing on PT, focusing specifically on studies in strategic management and organizational behavior/human resource management (OB/HR). In addition to discussing the contributions of this work, we raise four areas of concern. First, most of these studies use only one or two of the constructs and arguments that comprise PT, and few studies use it as a coherent whole. Second, many studies claiming to draw on PT make predictions inconsistent with it (Bromiley, 2010). Third, scholars implement PT in disparate ways, limiting comparability across studies. Fourth, scholars often use PT, which is an individual-level theory, to explain higher-level phenomena, but the extent to which PT translates theoretically and empirically to higher levels of analysis is open to debate. Given these concerns, we conclude that despite decades of management research drawing on PT, (a) its past contributions to our field remain unclear and (b) a continuation of extant practices …
Word Recognition Processing Efficiency as a Component of Second Language Listening

This study investigated the application of the speeded lexical decision task to L2 aural processing efficiency. One-hundred and twenty Japanese university students completed an aural word/nonword task. When the variation of lexical decision time (CV) was correlated with reaction time (RT), the results suggested that the single-word recognition task could be successfully applied to the L2 aural modality. However, when CV and RT were correlated with L2 listening ability, a statistically significant relationship was not found. It was concluded that the single-word word recognition task might not be suited to measuring L2 aural word recognition efficiency.
POTENTIAL EARLY MARKERS OF CARCINOGENESIS IN THE MUCOSA OF THE HEAD AND NECK USING EXFOLIATIVE CYTOLOGY

Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) who are thought to be cured are at high risk of development of a secondary primary tumour in the mucosa of the upper aerodigestive tract and the lungs. This phenomenon is in agreement with the concept of ‘field cancerization’, which implies that the whole mucosa is potentially condemned to the development of neoplasia. The hypothesis advanced in this study was that early markers of carcinogenesis should therefore be present in all cells of the mucosa of patients with HNSCC. The expression of cytokeratin 16, cytokeratin 19, and histo‐blood group antigen H (ABH), type 2 chain was analysed by means of immunocytochemistry on exfoliated cells taken from six sites of the upper aerodigestive tract of the ‘healthy’ mucosa of previously untreated HNSCC patients (n=25) and controls (n=10). Statistically significant differences were found in the mucosal expression of these markers between patients and controls. Since no overlap in ABH type 2 chain expression existed between patients and controls and the expression between sites in a given individual was highly correlated, this marker was considered the most promising of those tested. These data suggest that cytokeratin 16, cytokeratin 19, and ABH type 2 chain are markers of field cancerization in easily available exfoliated cells, which may be applied to monitor and/or predict the occurrence of second primary tumours.
Doing weight: Pro-ana and recovery identities in cyberspace

Riley, S. C. , Rodham, K. , Gavin, J. (2009). Doing weight: Pro-ana and recovery identities in cyberspace. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 19 (5), 348-359. Special Issue: Beyond Psychopathology: Interrogating (Dis)Orders of Body Weight and Body Management
A Social-Psychological Analysis of HIV-Related Stigma

Despite the best efforts of public health agencies, HIV/AIDS continues to carry a significant stigma in the general population. Research indicates that people's negative reactions to persons with AIDS (PWAs) are due to their relatively automatic reactions to a disease that has become associated with death, promiscuity, drugs, and homosexuality. There is also evidence that more controlled or effortful information processing influences how people respond to PWAs. A model of HIV-related stigma is developed that assumes psychological reactions to stigmatized persons are governed by a primarily associative and a rule-based system, and that there is a temporal pattern such that initial reactions are governed by the associative system whereas subsequent reactions are governed by the rule-based system. Because associations to PWAs often are negative, relatively automatic reactions tend to be negative; however, if perceivers have enough time, motivation, and cognitive resources, they may adjust their initial reactions in a more positive direction. This theoretical model has general implications for understanding how any perceived stigma influences social cognition processes.
Chinese attitudes towards varieties of English: a pre-Olympic examination

This study reports on findings of an investigation into Chinese students’ attitudes towards varieties of English before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. One hundred and eight college students in mainland China evaluated six English speeches by two American English speakers, two British English speakers, and two Chinese English speakers for social status, attractiveness, and language quality. To triangulate the data, an informal retrospective interview was conducted with a group of students, pertaining to their awareness of varieties of English and their attitudes towards the English language. Statistical analysis showed that native varieties were preferred to non-native varieties and that standard native varieties were favoured over less standard native varieties. Retrospective interviews revealed that the students’ attitudes were influenced by the entrenched native models in their teaching materials and learning environment. The interview data, on the other hand, disclosed that these students were aware of the plurality of Englishes, and some challenged the standards of acceptable English.
Melanin–based plumage coloration and flight displays in plovers and allies

Plovers and their allies exhibit an impressive diversity of melanin–based plumage patterns ranging from non–melanized to completely melanized species. We use phylogenetic comparative methods to test whether melanization has evolved in relation to sexual selection for attracting mates, to selection for signalling territory defence, or to natural selection for camouflage. First, according to sexual–selection theory, melanized plumage has evolved to amplify the courtship displays of males. As predicted by this hypothesis, we found that males with aerial displays had more melanized plumage than males of ground–displaying species. In addition, sexual dimorphism in melanization was greater in species with display flights than in species with ground displays. Second, melanization may have evolved through social interactions to signal competitive ability in territory defence. We did not find evidence for this hypothesis, since breeding density was unrelated to the melanization of either sex. Finally, melanized plumage may camouflage the incubating parent. The latter hypothesis was not supported, since melanization was unrelated either to the darkness of nest substrate or the extent of vegetation cover. Taken together, our results are most consistent with the sexual–selection hypothesis, and suggest that melanized plumage has evolved to enhance the aerial displays of male plovers.
Economic Conditions , and the Great Recession

Abstract The “Great Recession” resulted in many business closings and foreclosures, but what effect did it have on business formation? On the one hand, recessions decrease potential business income and wealth, but on the other hand they restrict opportunities in the wage/salary sector leaving the net effect on entrepreneurship ambiguous. The most up-to-date microdata available -the 1996 to 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS) -are used to conduct a detailed analysis of the determinants of entrepreneurship at the individual level to shed light on this question. Regression estimates indicate that local labor market conditions are a major determinant of entrepreneurship. Higher local unemployment rates are found to increase the probability that individuals start businesses. Home ownership and local home values for home owners are also found to have positive effects on business creation, but these effects are noticeably smaller. Additional regression estimates indicate that individuals who are initially not employed respond more to high local unemployment rates by starting businesses than wage/salary workers. The results point to a consistent picture – the positive influences of slack labor markets outweigh the negative influences resulting in higher levels of business creation. Using the regression estimates for the local unemployment rate effects, I find that the predicted trend in entrepreneurship rates tracks the actual upward trend in entrepreneurship extremely well in the Great Recession.
Continued Usage of E-Learning Communication Tools: A Study from the Learners' Perspective in Hong Kong

In line with the mainstream research on e-learning, we propose a model of the continued usage of e-learning communication tools by learners. We observe in particular that there are two less studied but potentially very important factors, learning self-efficacy and compatibility of values and beliefs with learning tools, which may contribute significantly to the continued usage of e-learning communication tools. We carried out a study of 682 e-learners and the results support our propositions.
The direct and relative efficacy of Cognitive Hardiness, Type A Behaviour Pattern, Coping Behaviour and Social Support as predictors of stress and ill-health

Abstract The direct and relative influence of Cognitive Hardiness, the Type A Behaviour Pattern, Coping Behaviour and Social Support upon the intensity of self-reported job stress, daily hassles, anxiety and physical health were examined within a voluntary sample of 1925 white and blue collar employees within a large Australian university. Data from direct comparisons via MANOVA procedures showed that all four predictor variables were significantly associated with most of the dependent variables. However, comparison between these four predictor variables via stepwise regression indicated that Cognitive Hardiness was the single most powerful and consistent predictor, followed by the absence of the Type A Behaviour Pattern. Implications for treatment and prevention are discussed, with several suggestions made for future research.
Exercise Decisions Within the Context of Multiple Myeloma, Transplant, and Fatigue

This constructivist (naturalistic) study explored the decision-making strategies of patients with multiple myeloma who were implementing a home-based exercise program intended to decrease cancer-related fatigue during therapy. A purposive nonprobability sample of 21 patients who were undergoing an aggressive tandem transplant protocol provided data through face-to-face and follow-up telephone interviews. Salient themes derived from the data through content analysis and constant comparison included intrinsic and extrinsic facilitators and barriers that influenced the participants' day-to-day decisions about exercise. Intrinsic factors that facilitated exercise adherence included a belief that exercise would be beneficial, a personal moral/ethical philosophy with regard to honoring a commitment and/or taking responsibility for one's health, and personal strategies such as keeping a routine and setting goals. Extrinsic facilitators included having a good support system and receiving prophylactic epoetin alfa. The experience of chemotherapy and related side effects were intrinsic barriers, while environmental factors such as weather, travel, and employment could be either facilitators or barriers. The delicate balance within the matrix of facilitators and barriers influenced participants' daily decisions about starting, interrupting, stopping, or resuming their workouts.
“Doing Religion” In a Secular World

Sociological studies of women's experiences with conservative religions are typically framed by a paradox that ponders women's complicity. The prevailing view associates agency with strategic subjects who use religion to further extra-religious ends and pays little attention to the cultural and institutional contexts that shape “compliance. ” This paper suggests an alternative framing. Rather than asking why women comply, I examine agency as religious conduct and religiosity as a constructed status. Drawing on a study that examined how orthodox Jewish Israeli women observe, negotiate, and make sense of regulations of marital sexuality, this paper explains religious women's agency as religious conduct, or the “doing” of religion. I demonstrate that doing religion is associated with a search for authentic religious subjecthood and that religiosity is shaped in accordance with the logics of one's religion, and in the context of controlling messages about threatened symbolic boundaries and cultural Others.
Experiencing virtual places: insights on the geographies of sim racing

Virtual spaces have emerged as everyday life spaces in contemporary societies. Very quickly, they have gained a cultural role in the daily life of their users, as these new territories gain their own communities, ideologies, and spatializations. However, little is known about how place is experienced in these different realms. This study seeks to understand place experience in virtual spaces, taking the sim racing virtual spaces as a case study and endeavoring to build a bridge between theory and empirics. This study uses ethnographic methods, which included a year-long participant observation period and a set of 20 in-depth interviews with users, in order to understand their narratives of the virtual geographies of two sim racing videogames: Gran Turismo and rFactor. The results of the study show that spirit of place, place ballets, and sense of place exist just as well among users of virtual spaces—despite the particularities of these new territories and their remaining tensions.
Can Cooperative Learning Achieve the Four Learning Outcomes of Physical Education? A Review of Literature

Physical learning, cognitive learning, social learning, and affective learning are positioned as the legitimate learning outcomes of physical education. It has been argued that these four learning outcomes go toward facilitating students’ engagement with the physically active life (Bailey et al., 2009; Kirk, 2013). With Cooperative Learning positioned as a pedagogical model capable of supporting these four learning outcomes (Dyson & Casey, 2012), the purpose of this review was to explore the empirical research in the use of Cooperative Learning in physical education reported on the achievement of learning in the physical, cognitive, social, and affective domains (or their equivalents). The review found that while learning occurred in all 4 domains, the predominant outcomes were reported in the physical, cognitive, and social domains. Affective learning was reported anecdotally, and it became clear that more work is required in this area. The article concludes by suggesting that research into the outcomes of this and other pedagogical models needs to focus on learning beyond the initial instructional unit and extend over a period of years and not just weeks.
KUNLP Grammatical Error Correction System For CoNLL-2013 Shared Task

This paper describes an English grammatical error correction system for CoNLL2013 shared task. Error types covered by our system are article/determiner, preposition, and noun number agreement. This work is our first attempt on grammatical error correction research. In this work, we only focus on reimplementing the techniques presented before and optimizing the performance. As a result of the implementation, our system’s final F1-score by m2 scorer is 0.1282 in our internal test set.
Peripheral CD4CD8 Double Positive T Cells with a Distinct Helper Cytokine Profile Are Increased in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Peripheral CD4CD8 double positive (DP) T cells have been reported to play a role in several autoimmune diseases, virus infections and cancer. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), both CD4 and CD8 single positive (SP) T cells are known to be involved in the pathogenesis, but the role of peripheral CD4CD8 DP T cells has not been investigated in detail. Anti cyclic citrullinated antibodies (ACPA) positive and ACPA negative RA patients, patients with systemic lupus erythematodes (SLE) and age matched healthy donors (HD) were enrolled in the analysis. The frequencies and phenotype of DP T cells in PBMC were investigated. In addition, DP T cells were quantified in biopsies from rheumatoid synovium. After in vitro restimulation, the cytokine production of DP T cells was investigated in cultures of PBMC. CMV specific cytokine secretion as well as proliferation was analyzed following antigen specific restimulation after an appropriate culture duration. DP T cells were found more frequently in RA patients than in healthy controls or patients with SLE. These DP T cells express αβ TCRs, are of a memory phenotype and share features of both CD4 as well as CD8 SP T cells. Importantly, DP T cells were found to also be present in the rheumatoid synovium. Further characterization of DP T cells from RA patients revealed increased production of IL-21 and IL-4, implying a possible role as T helper cells. In addition, DP T cells in RA seem to contribute to the inflammatory process, because they produce significantly more IFNγ than counterparts from HD and are increased in CMV+ RA patients. Given their capacity to produce a variety of cytokines (IL4, IL21 and IFNγ), their association with ACPA positive RA and their presence in the synovium, we suggest an important role of double positive T cells in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis.
The Seventh International Conference on Cold Fusion

A new type of experimental apparatus is developed to induce nuclear reactions by continuous diffusion of deuterium. Ti atoms, which cannot be explained by contamination, were detected on the surface where deuterium atoms passed through on Pd cathodes after electrolysis. A multi-layer cathode (Pd/CaO/Pd) is introduced based on an EINR (Electron Induced Nuclear Reaction) model. Excess heat generations and x-ray emissions were observed for all the cases we tried by the multi-layer cathodes. Fe/Fe ratio of Fe atoms detected on the multi-layer cathodes is anomalously larger than natural Fe/Fe.