Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in Lipids and Lipoprotein Indices in Relation to the Severity of Hypertension in Newly Diagnosed Hypertensive Nigerians

Hypertension and dyslipidaemia are important components of metabolic syndrome and both are known to complicate each other. Materials and Methods. A total of 149 subjects consisting of 107 hypertensive patients, grouped into 3 (of 37, 35, and 35 patients categorized based on the grade of hypertension as grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3, resp.) and 42 controls, were recruited for this study. Each subject had a recording of the bio- and anthropometric data comprising of the age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and abdominal circumference (AC). The blood pressure was also recorded. Fasting blood was collected and serum was used for the estimation of the lipids: total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglyceride (TG), while low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and VLDL were estimated using Friedewald formula. Findings. Patients with hypertension had higher lipid and lipoprotein levels than the controls and the values became more significant with increasing severity of hypertension. The difference was statistically significant for TC, LDL-C, and VLDL-C (P < 0.05). Conclusion. This study showed that lipid and lipoprotein cholesterol abnormalities exist and even worsen with severity of hypertension. It is important that investigations in patients with hypertension should include a lipid profile.
Sport In Consumer Culture

Preface List of Tables and Figures Introduction PART ONE: GLOBALIZATION, CONSUMERIZATION AND THE MASS MEDIA Consumer Culture and the Global Sports Market Sport, Consumerization and the Mass Media PART TWO: COMMODIFICATION, REGULATION AND POWER Advertising, Sponsorship and the Commodification of Sport Sport, Social Regulation and Power PART THREE: LIFESTYLES, IDENTITIES AND SOCIAL DIVISIONS Sport, Identities and Lifestyles in Consumer Culture Sport and Social Divisions in Consumer Culture Conclusion Bibliography Index
Building Corpora for the Development of a Dependency Parser for Spanish Using Maltparser

The present paper details the process followed for creating training and test corpora for a dependency parser generator (Maltparser). The starting point is the Cast3LB corpus, which contains constituency analyses of Spanish texts. These constituency analyses are automatically transformed into dependency analyses. In addition, the empirically and semiautomatically obtention of a set of syntactic function labels for the training corpus is described. As a result of the process followed, it has been obtained a dependency parser for Spanish showing a 91% precision when determining dependencies.
Striving toward the future: aspiration—performance discrepancies and planned organizational change

Interest has been growing in understanding how organizations’ aspiration levels affect their planning for future organizational change. Previous research has not specified whether organizations use direct competitors or other comparable organizations as referents for forming their aspirations. In this study, it is argued that organizations form their social aspirations based on two types of interorganizational comparisons: competitive and striving. In competitive comparisons, an organization compares its current performance against that of its current direct competitors. When relative performance is poor, these organizations plan more extensive and more radical change. However, the study shows that organizations that are performing well relative to competitors do not necessarily become inertial, as theory suggests. Rather, organizations engage in striving comparisons by comparing their current performance against the performance of organizations to which they strive to be like in the future. The analyses show that organizations with large striving discrepancies are driven to more extensive and more radical change, even if they are performing well compared to current competitors. The study examined this interplay between competitive and striving discrepancy in explaining organizational change on a sample of 131 AACSB accredited business schools.
Semantic Segmentation and Labeling of 3D Garments

As large collections of 3D garments continue to grow, analyzing and exploring shape variations is significant but challenging. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised learning method for semantic segmentation and labeling of 3D garments. The key idea in this work is to address the data challenge for 3D garment analysis using semi-supervised learning method which can label parts in various 3D garments. We first develop an objective function based on Conditional Random Field (CRF) model to learn the prior knowledge of garment components from a set of training examples. Then, we segment 3D garments into five component prototypes related to top, bottom, sleeve, accessory and one-piece, respectively. And we modify the Joint Boost to automatically cluster the segmented components without requiring manual parameter tuning. The purpose of our method is to relieve the manual segmentation and labeling of components in 3D garment collections. The experimental results demonstrate our method is effective and comparable to human work.
Issues and Challenges to the Development of Open Access Institutional Repositories in Academic and Research Institutions in Nigeria

For centuries, the conventional method that has been adopted by the scholarly community in preserving and disseminating intellectual outputs from academic and research institutions have been through institutional libraries as well as scholarly publishing. Over the past decades, however, the economic, market, and technological foundations that sustained this symbiotic publisher-library market relationship has begun to drift. This drift has resulted in what Benkler called the 'networked information economy' which is gradually displacing the 'industrial information economy' that typified information production from about the second half of the nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century. This shift in paradigm has been attributed to series of factors such as technological change which has driven the demand for broader access to research output. Open access institutional repository - a product of the 'networked information economy' is complementing the efforts of research and academic librarians in making possible access to research outputs which in the absence of such repositories could have ended up in the form of grey literature in their respective institutional libraries with the consequential limited access. With 92 universities and 144 academic journals listed in the African Journal Online, Nigeria lacks any open access institutional repository. This research sought to identify issues and challenges that militates against the development of open access institutional repositories in academic and research institutions in Nigeria and how such difficulties could be dealt with. The research output is based on field research conducted in Nigeria.
M-Theory tested by N=2 Seiberg-Witten Theory

Methods are reviewed for computing the instanton expansion of the prepotential for N=2 Seiberg-Witten theory with non-hyperelliptic curves. These results, when compared with the instanton expansion obtained from the microscopic Lagrangian, provide detailed tests of M-theory. Group theoretic regularities of F_ 1-inst allow one to "reverse engineer" a Seiberg-Witten curve for SU(N) with two antisymmetric representations and N_f \leq 3 fundamental hypermultiplet representations, a result not yet available by other methods. Consistency with M-theory requires a curve of infinite order.
Measurement of Waist Circumference at Four Different Sites in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: Concordance and Correlation with Nutritional Status as well as Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

Background: This study investigates the concordance of four waist circumference (WC) measurement sites, and examines their relationships with nutritional status and cardiometabolic risk. Subjects and Methods: In 91 females / 89 males (6.1–19.9 years; 12.2% overweight), WC was assessed beneath the lowest rib (WCR), 4 cm above the umbilicus (WC4), above the iliac crest (WCC), and midway between WCR/WCC (WCM). ‘Overwaist’ was defined as a WC > 90th age-/sex-specific percentile. Pubertal stage was assessed according to Tanner. Body composition (air-displacement plethysmography), blood pressure, lipid profile, glucose/insulin levels, and HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance) were measured. Results: Medians of WCs (cm) for females/males were WCR (64.4/69.5) < WC4 (64.6/70.2) < WCM (67.1/71.2) < WCC (71.5/ 74.2). Although closely related to each other (all r > 0.93; p < 0.001), paired comparisons revealed differences between WCs in their magnitudes which was stronger for females than males. Prevalence of ‘overwaist’ differed according to measurement site in females/males: WCR (13.2/15.7%) < WC4 (14.3/ 19.1%) < WCM (18.7/22.5%) < WCC (37.4/30.3%). After adjusting for age and pubertal status, WCs were closely related to body mass index (BMI) (all r > 0.86; p < 0.001), percent fat mass (%FM; all r > 0.61; p < 0.001), and comparably associated with cardiometabolic risk factors. However, stronger correlations were found for i) WCR vs. WC4 with BMI in males (r = 0.93 vs. 0.91; p < 0.05), ii) WCC vs. WC4 with %FM in females (r = 0.67 vs. 0.61; p < 0.05), iii) WCC vs. WCR with triglycerides in females (r = 0.29 vs. r = 0.22; p < 0.05), and iv) WCC (r = 0.36) vs. other WCs (r = 0.30–0.32) with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in males (p < 0.05). Conclusion: WCs measured at different sites were closely correlated with BMI and %FM as well as comparably associated with cardiometabolic risk factors. However, different WCs had different magnitudes, which was more obvious in females and led to discordant results with respect to ‘overwaist’ and risk assessment.
Global Analysis of Synchronization in Coupled Maps

We introduce a new method for determining the global stability of synchronization in systems of coupled identical maps. The method is based on the study of invariant measures. Besides the simplest nontrivial example, namely two symmetrically coupled tent maps, we also treat the case of two asymmetrically coupled tent maps as well as a globally coupled network. Our main result is the identification of the precise value of the coupling parameter where the synchronizing and desynchronizing transitions take place.
Anxiety Status and its Relationship with General Health Related Quality of Life among Prostate Cancer Patients in Two University Hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Background This study aimed to determine the prevalence of anxiety among prostate cancer patients, and to ascertain the association between stress status, socio-demographic, medical and surgical illness, current urinary problem and cancer status with general health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among these patients. Methods: A hospital based, cross sectional study was conducted at Surgical Clinic, University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) using universal sampling. Result: A total of 193 patients were recruited. The prevalence of anxiety was 25.4% (95%CI: 19.2 – 31.6). The anxiety ratings were mild anxiety (10.4%), moderate anxiety (13.6%) and severe anxiety (1.6%). The total quality of life among stress group was 59.2 ± 14.7 and among non-stress group was 73.9 ± 12.7. There was a significant negative weak correlation between anxiety score and total quality of life (rs=−0.534, P<0.001). In multivariable analysis, there was a significant difference in the total quality of life (QOL) among anxiety status [adj. mean diff. = −9.1 (95%CI: −15.2, −4.7)]. The adjusted mean difference was associated by age category of the patients (P<0.001); living partner (P<0.001); intermittency (P=0.035) and problem of hematuria during micturition (P=0.005). Conclusion: The prevalence of anxiety among prostate cancer was moderately high. Treating the urination problem as well as encouraging living with spouse/family may improve the quality of life among anxiety condition of these patients.
RELATIONSHIP OF ASSESS SELF-ESTEEM AND LOCUS OF CONTROL WITH QUALITY OF LIFE DURING TREATMENT STAGES IN PATIENTS REFERRING TO DRUG ADDICTION REHABILITATION CENTERS

Objective: Thus, the present research was carried out aimed at determining the relationship between self-esteem and locus of control and quality of life during treatment stages in the patients referring to drug addiction rehabilitation centers of Borujen city, Iran. Methods: The current study was a sectional research of descriptive correlation type. The research sample was 150 individuals of patients referring to addiction rehabilitation centers of Borujen city. For data gathering, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale, and SF36 Quality of Life Questionnaire were used. Following collection of questionnaires, the data were analyzed using SPSS/16 software. Results: According to the results, in the 12th day of treatment, 96 patients exhibited moderate self-esteem, 102 patients had internal locus of control, and the score of their overall quality of life was 40.43±12.71. Furthermore, Pearson’s correlation coefficient indicated that a significant and positive relationship was observed between locus of control and quality of life during different treatment stages. Conclusion: It seems that quality of life improves during addiction treatment stages due to improvement of personality traits including locus of control and self-esteem. Therefore, consultation methods as a very crucial priority in addiction rehabilitation centers shall be taken into account by the health sector authorities and managers and can play an essential role in enhancing quality of life.
Further insights into the interareal connectivity of a cortical network

Abstract Over the past years, network science has proven invaluable as a means to better understand many of the processes taking place in the brain. Recently, interareal connectivity data of the macaque cortex was made available with great richness of detail. We explore new aspects of this dataset, such as a correlation between connection weights and cortical hierarchy. We also look at the link-community structure that emerges from the data to uncover the major communication pathways in the network, and moreover investigate its reciprocal connections, showing that they share similar properties. A question arising from these analyses is that of determining the role of weak connections in the unfolding of cortical processes. Though we leave this question largely unanswered, we have found that weak connections pervade the entire cortex while giving rise to no community-like structure. We conjecture that whatever function they come to be found to perform will likely involve some form of cortex-wide communication or control.
Partial matching of garment panel shapes with dynamic sketching design

Fashion industry and textile manufacturing in past decade, have been starting to reapply enhanced intelligent CAD process technologies. In this paper, we propose a partial panel matching system to facilitate the typical garment design process. This process provides recommendations to the designer during the panel design process and performs partial matching of the garment panel shapes. There are three main parts in our partial matching system. First, we make use of a Bézier-based sketch regularization to pre-process the panel sketch data. Second, we propose a set of bi-segment panel shape descriptors to describe and enrich the local features of the shape for partial matching. Finally, based on our previous work, we add an interactive sketching input environment to design garments. Experiment results show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed system.
How Do College Homeland Security Curricula Prepare Students for Homeland Security

This dissertation analyzed the policies of colleges in the United States as they relate to homeland security curricula. The quantitative study surveyed college homeland security faculty to measure how colleges developed, categorized, and ensured that their homeland security curricula remained current as homeland security needs changed. The findings of this research will help colleges develop common and core homeland security curricula that prepare students for homeland security. The analysis of the survey responses determined that homeland security is an evolving academic discipline. College homeland security curricula were housed in various academic departments, were taught by faculty from various academic disciplines, and bore various academic labels. The vast majority of the curricula were housed, taught, and bore programs names that resembled criminal justice, emergency management, and homeland security per se. Homeland security curricula were mostly multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary and contained multiple and varied topics that emphasized terrorism, critical thinking, collaboration, intelligence, strategy, all-hazards, critical infrastructure, emergency management, preparedness, risk management, cyber security, and law. The results of this study suggest that common and core homeland security curricula can help prepare current and future members of the homeland security enterprise to provide a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Education (EdD) Department Executive Leadership First Supervisor Richard Maurer Second Supervisor Michael Muffs This dissertation is available at Fisher Digital Publications: http://fisherpub.sjfc. edu/education_etd/180 How Do College Homeland Security Curricula Prepare Students for Homeland Security?
The Madden-Julian Oscillation in ECHAM6 and the Introduction of an Objective MJO Metric

This study presents a quantitative evaluation of the simulated Madden‐Julian oscillation (MJO) in an ensemble of 42 experiments performed with ECHAM6 and previous ECHAM versions. The ECHAM6 experiments differ in their parameter settings, resolution, and whether the atmosphere is coupled to an ocean or not. The analysis concentrates on a few basic features of the MJO, namely, the signatures of convection/precipitation coupled with the circulation system and the eastward propagation strength of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) and 850- and 200-hPa zonal winds within the MJO-related frequency‐ wavenumber range. It also examines whether precipitation and OLR show similar signatures in the MJO as simulated by ECHAM. The experiments reveal an MJO, however, to different degrees and in different aspects, so that a sound assessment requires a multivariate approach. In particular, the convective rainfall signatures are decoupled from the dynamic signature of the MJO in the simulations herein, which eventually leads to the introduction of a new MJO diagram and metric that incorporate OLR and the zonal winds in 850 and 200 hPa. The analysis here confirms the importance of the convection scheme: only with the Nordeng modifications to the Tiedtke scheme can realistic MJO features be simulated. High-resolution coupled experiments better represent the MJO as compared to low-resolution AMIP experiments. This is shown to follow from two more general findings, namely, that 1) air‐sea interaction mainly increases the convective signature and 2) increased resolution enhances eastward propagation.
Dominant ( g 9 / 2 ) 2 neutron configuration in the 4 1 + state of Zn 68 based on new g factor measurements

The g factor of the 4 + state in 68 Zn has been remeasured with improved energy resolution of the detectors used. The value obtained is consistent with the previous result of a negative g factor thus confirming the dominant 0g9/2 neutron nature of the 4 + state. In addition, the accuracy of the g factors of the 2 + , 2 + and 3 − states has been improved and their lifetimes were well reproduced. New large-scale shell model calculations based on a 56 Ni core and an 0f 5/2 1pg 9/2 model space yield a theoretical value, g(4 + ) = +0.008. Although the calculated value is small, it cannot fully explain the experimental value, g(4 + ) = 0.37(17). The magnitude of the deduced B(E2) of the 4 + and 2 + transition is, however, rather well described. These results demonstrate again the importance of g factor measurements for nuclear structure determinations due to their specific sensitivity to detailed proton and neutron components in the nuclear wave functions.
On Data Representation and Use in a Temporal Relational Dbms

Numerous proposals for extending the relational data model to incorporate the temporal dimension of data have appeared over the past decade. It has long been known that these proposals have adopted one of two basic approaches to the incorporation of time into the extended relational model. Recent work formally contrasted the expressive power of these two approaches, termed temporally ungrouped and temporally grouped, and demonstrated that the temporally grouped models are more expressive. In the temporally ungrouped models, the temporal dimension is added through the addition of some number of distinguished attributes to the schema of each relation, and each tuple is “stamped” with temporal values for these attributes. By contrast, in temporally grouped models the temporal dimension is added to the types of values that serve as the domain of each ordinary attribute, and the application's schema is left intact. The recent appearance of TSQL2, a temporal extension to the SQL-92 standard based upon the temporally ungrouped paradigm, means that it is likely that commercial DBMS's will be extended to support time in this weaker way. Thus the distinction between these two approaches---and its impact on the day-to-day user of a DBMS---is of increasing relevance to the database practitioner and the database user community. In this paper we address this issue from the practical perspective of such a user. Through a series of example queries and updates, we illustrate the differences between these two approaches and demonstrate that the temporally grouped approach more adequately captures the semantics of historical data.
Motivating Finite Adverbial Subordinate Clause Placement in Argumentative English Essays : Preposed and Postposed Adverbials in New York Times Editorials

Finite adverbial subordinate clauses can be placed before their main clauses (preposed), in the middle of their main clauses, or after their main clauses (postposed). This study found that the positioning and punctuation of adverbials in argumentative essays is determined primarily by the semantic type of the finite adverbial subordinate clause. Temporal and Conditional adverbials have a prominent tendency to be preposed vis-à-vis their main clauses, and have a salient tendency to have subjects that are coreferential to the subjects of their main clauses when preposed. Causal adverbials have an extremely strong tendency to be postposed, and have a strong tendency to have non-coreferential subjects; that is, causal clauses tend to compare two different variables. Although neither concession adverbials nor manner adverbials seem to have a salient tendency to be preposed or postposed, it was found that concession adverbials are categorically less integrated with their main clauses, sometimes to the point of being completely detached from the main clause altogether.