Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The development and evaluation of a training programme for nurses working with persons with communication disorders in a complex continuing care facility

Background: Positive interactions between caregivers and residents in long-term care institutions have been documented to improve residents' quality of life, their psychological and social well-being as well as their life expectancy. Residents with language disorders pose a unique challenge due to their difficulties understanding conversation, speaking, reading, and writing. The success and efficiency of such residents' communication can be improved by enhancing partners' abilities to communicate with them. Individualised communication plans, education and training, and staff support have been documented to be important components in this type of intervention. Aims: This paper reports on the development and evaluation of a communication training programme for nurses working with persons with language impairments in a complex continuing care facility. The specific aims of this study were (a) to explore changes in staff knowledge about language impairment, (b) to determine their perception of the training workshop, and (c) to explore staff's perceptions of the Communication Plans' usefulness in practice. Methods & Procedures: Eighteen nursing staff and nine residents with communication impairments participated in this study with a descriptive design. The intervention consisted of three components: developing Communication Plans, holding a 1-day workshop, and offering support while implementing the plans into practice. Outcomes & Results: There was a statistically significant increase in staff's knowledge of language disorders after training. Staff perceived the Communication Plans to be very useful in their interactions with residents. Conclusions: Individualised Communication Plans, a 1-day workshop, and the follow-up and support of a speech-language pathologist can have a beneficial effect on staff outcomes. Nursing staff demonstrated an enhancement in their knowledge and perceived skills in caring for residents with communication impairments. Results have implications for the speech-language pathologist's role with residents with communication impairments in complex continuing care.
Left-Hemisphere Dominance for Motion Processing in Deaf Signers

Evidence from neurophysiological studies in animals as well as humans has demonstrated robust changes in neural organization and function following early-onset sensory deprivation. Unfortunately, the perceptual consequences of these changes remain largely unexplored. The study of deaf individuals who have been auditorily deprived since birth and who rely on a visual language (i.e., American Sign Language, ASL) for communication affords a unique opportunity to investigate the degree to which perception in the remaining, intact senses (e.g., vision) is modified as a result of altered sensory and language experience. We studied visual motion perception in deaf individuals and compared their performance with that of hearing subjects. Thresholds and reaction times were obtained for a motion discrimination task, in both central and peripheral vision. Although deaf and hearing subjects had comparable absolute scores on this task, a robust and intriguing difference was found regarding relative performance for left-visual-field (LVF) versus right-visual-field (RVF) stimuli: Whereas hearing subjects exhibited a slight LVF advantage, the deaf exhibited a strong RVF advantage. Thus, for deaf subjects, the left hemisphere may be specialized for motion processing. These results suggest that perceptual processes required for the acquisition and comprehension of language (motion processing, in the case of ASL) are recruited (or “captured”) by the left, language-dominant hemisphere.
Drilling of Glass Sheets by Abrasive Jet Machining

Drilling of glass sheets with different thicknesses have been carried out by Abrasive Jet Machining process (AJM) in order to determine its machinability under different controlling parameters of the AJM process. The present study has been introduced a mathematical model and the obtained results have been compared with that obtained from other models published earlier [1-6]. The experimental results of the present work are used to discuss the validity of the proposed model as well as the other models. Keywords—Abrasive Jet Machining, Erosion rate, Glass, Mathematical model.
Tau consists of a set of proteins with repeated C-terminal microtubule-binding domains and variable N-terminal domains

Tau proteins consist of a family of proteins, heterogeneous in size, which associate with microtubules in vivo and are induced during neurite outgrowth. In humans, tau is one of the major components of the pathognomonic neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease brain. Screening of a cDNA library prepared from bovine brain led to the isolation of several cDNA clones encoding tau proteins with different N termini and differing by insertions or deletions, suggesting differential splicing of the tau transcripts. One of the N-terminal domains and the repeated C-terminal domain of the encoded tau proteins are recognized by polyclonal antibodies to bovine tau. The bovine tau proteins are highly homologous to murine and human tau, especially within the repeated C-terminal domain. Compared with murine and human tau, bovine tau contains the insertion of three longer segments, one of which is an additional characteristic repeat. Portions of tau proteins generated by in vitro translation were used to show that these repeats represent tubulin-binding domains, two of which are sufficient to bind to microtubules assembled from purified tubulin in the presence of taxol.
The Transnational Political Practices of “Latin American Italians”

The article analyses the political institutional patterns between Italy and Latin America through a study of South American dual nationals who retain full political rights in Italy. It adopts a socio-historical approach to study the genesis, evolution and consequences of Italy’s external citizenship policies, assessing their impact on the transnational political activities of “Latin American Italians”. It identifies the outputs and outcomes from the transnational political practices of “Latin American Italians”, both in Italy and the countries of residence, if and how these have created overlapping polities, affected the conception of membership, and challenged the definition of “home” and “host” country. The findings are based on over one year of field research, including interviews with key actors in Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom; in-depth interviews with seventy-four Latin Americans who had recently obtained their Italian citizenship by descent; and a statistical analysis. The article concludes that the current rise of transnational institutions linking sending and receiving countries does not totally break with the past. The strategic use of European nationality laws influences political participation of Latin American Italians in a limited way, and when a transnational political engagement does occur, it produces a disjunction between politics and territory more in terms of a re-territorialization than of a de-territorialization of political practices. Thus, this article supports the hypothesis of strengths and weaknesses of the transnational approach to analyse migrant’s political activities.
Socio-economic Status, Needs, and Utilization of Dental Services among Rural Adults in a Primary Health Center Area in Southern India

Background: The oral disease burden in India is showing a steady increase in the recent years. Utilization of dental care being the major factor affecting the oral health status of the population is used as an important tool in oral health policy decision-making and is measured in terms of the number of dental visits per annum. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional house to house questionnaire survey was conducted in three rural clusters which were randomly selected from a total of eight clusters served by a primary health center. Simple random sampling was used to select 100 houses from each cluster. Screening was done to examine the existing oral diseases. A total of 385 completed questionnaires were collected from 300 houses. Results: Of 385 study subjects, 183 have experienced previous dental problems. Major dental problem experienced by the study subjects was toothache (68.85%) and the treatment underwent was extraction (50.27%). Most preferred treatment centers by the study subjects were private dental hospital (68.25%) and reason identified was accessibility which constituted (45.24%) of all the reasons given. Negative attitude toward dental care is one of the important barriers; 50.8% of the non-utilizers felt dental treatment is not much important. Conclusion: Person’s attitude, lack of awareness, and affordability remain the barriers for utilization of dental services. Effective methods have to be exercised to breach such barriers.
Systems biology: an information-theoretic-based thermo-statistical approach

Recently we published a paper studying biological systems (system-level understanding in biological science), from the physical-chemical point of view, and involving irreversible thermodynamics and nonlinear kinetic theory of open systems which are founded on nonequilibrium statistical mechanics [1]. The reason of this research was to progress in direction of the knowledge of complex molecules, in particular biological systems, making use of the collective quantum model established by Frohlich to explain the electret phenomenon. Here is important to remember that Bernhard Gross and Herbert Frohlich maintained friendly relations across their careers. Here we present a resume of this paper, in which we considered the case of a very peculiar complex behavior in open boson systems sufficiently away, from equilibrium, which appear to have large relevance in the functioning of biological systems. This is, on the one hand, the so-called Frohlich leading in steady-state conditions to the emergence of a particular case of quantum-large-scale coherent ordering, of the type of a selforganizing-synergetic dissipative structure. Moreover, additional complexity emerges in the form of propagation, in this condensate, of signals (information) consisting of nearly undamped and undistorted, long-distance propagating, solitary waves (the pseudoparticle soliton). It can be accompanied by a so-called Frohlich-Cherenkov cone of emission of polar vibrations, and it is also possible the formation of "metastable states" of the form of the so-called bioelectrets. These are phenomena apparently working in biological processes, which are presently gaining relevant status on the basis of eventually providing a large-scale quantum-coherent behavior in cytoskeletons of neurons and the conscious (non-computational) activity in the brain.
Perceptual Properties of Obsessive Thoughts are Associated With Low Insight in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Abstract Obsessions are traditionally defined as bothersome and repetitive thoughts that the patient is unable to resist. Preliminary evidence suggests that in a subgroup of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), obsessions are experienced as partially perceptual. The present study explored the frequency of perceptually laden obsessions and their relationship with illness insight and depression. Twenty-six patients with OCD were administered the newly developed Sensory Properties of Obsessions Questionnaire. Participants were asked to endorse on a 5-point Likert scale whether their obsessions were associated with perceptual features. Participants showed moderate symptom severity. A total of 73% affirmed that their obsessions contained perceptual features. The predominant perceptual channels were visual, tactile, and somatic (i.e., bodily sensations). The extent of perceptual aspects associated with obsessions was strongly correlated with lack of insight (Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale item 11) but not depression severity. The present study suggests that obsessive thoughts are frequently accompanied by perceptual sensations, which concurs with models assuming a continuum between hallucinations and intrusions. Apparently, the more “real” or authentic the obsessive thought is experienced, the less the afflicted person is able to dismiss its content as fully irrational or absurd.
Numbering matters: first-order canonical forms for second-order recursive types

We study a type system equipped with universal types and equire-cursive types, which we refer to as F<inf>͘</inf>. We show that type equality may be decided in time O(<i>n</i>log <i>n</i>), an improvement over the previous known bound of O(<i>n</i><sup>2</sup> ). In fact, we show that two more general problems, namely entailment of type equations and type unification, may be decided in time O(<i>n</i>log <i>n</i>), a new result. To achieve this bound, we associate, with every F<inf>͘</inf> type, a <i>first-order canonical form</i>, which may be computed in time O(<i>n</i>log<i>n</i>). By exploiting this notion, we reduce all three problems to equality and unification of <i>first-order</i> recursive terms, for which efficient algorithms are known.
Designing Whole Landscapes

A whole-landscape approach is critical to ensuring conservation and enhancement of biodiversity in farmed landscapes. Although existing agri-environmental schemes are constrained by property boundaries and voluntary take up, the potential for adopting a whole-landscape approach to planned countryside management is currently favoured by a number of factors. These include economic uncertainty in some agricultural sectors; the introduction of a reformulated rural development policy; increased understanding of relationships between biodiversity and management; and the introduction of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology that allows future landscapes to be visualized by stakeholders. Ecological and socio-economic aspects of whole-landscape planning in a study covering 31 neighbouring farms in west Oxfordshire are reported. A baseline was first compiled that included information on: property boundaries; land cover; relationships between hedge and field margin management and key taxa; and farmer socio-economics and attitudes towards agri-environmental measures, conservation and sustainable agriculture. Future scenarios of integrated wholelandscape management were then developed, designed to deliver amenity, environmental and biodiversity benefits. These scenarios were presented and interpreted to farmers and conservation and amenity stakeholders with the aid of GIS-based maps and three-dimensional virtual reality visualizations. Farmers' responses are reported and the potential for implementing whole-landscape planning is discussed.
Environmental magnetic record of the Eocene-Oligocene transition in the CRP-3 drillcore, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica

A 1500-m-thick Cenozoic sequence was recovered in a series of 3 drill holes from the Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica, in association with the Cape Roberts Project. The CRP-3 drill hole penetrated the oldest Palaeogene strata in the Granite Harbour region and terminated in strata from the Devonian Beacon Supergroup. The upper 823-m of the CRP-3 drill-core is an expanded sequence that may span the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. Lithostratigraphic analysis indicates a transition from rapidly deposited deltaic strata below 480 metres below sea floor (mbsf) to distinctly glaciomarine strata above 307 mbsf. A variety of rock magnetic parameters indicate that magnetite is the main magnetic mineral in the CRP-3 Eocene-Oligocene sequence. Magnetite concentration varies in a distinct pattern, which allows subdivision of the CRP-3 sequence into four main rock magnetic intervals that do not correspond to the lithostratigraphic units or to the sequence stratigraphic subdivisions identified in the core. Intervals I (0-243 mbsf) and IV (627-790 mbsf) have high concentrations of magnetite, with moderate variations. Intervals II (243-440 mbsf) and III (440-627 mbsf) have low background magnetite concentrations, but contain thin zones with higher magnetite concentrations. Rock magnetic interval III coincides with the part of the core that is dominated by clean sands. The transition upward from high to low magnetite concentration at 627 mbsf coincides with the chron C13r-C13n transition and is correlated with a major oxygen isotope shift in deep-sea records (Oi-1) across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. Comparison with other Eocene and Oligocene environmental magnetic records from the southern Victoria Land Basin indicates that transition observed in the environmental magnetic record of the CRP-3 core may mark the most prominent cooling event in Antarctica during a stepwise deterioration of climate that extended across the (~5 m.y.) Eocene-Oligocene transition.
A semi-automated method for patient-specific computational flow modelling of left ventricles

Patient-specific computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of the left ventricle (LV) is a promising technique for the visualisation of ventricular flow patterns throughout a cardiac cycle. While significant progress has been made in improving the physiological quality of such simulations, the methodologies involved for several key steps remain significantly operator-dependent to this day. This dependency limits both the efficiency of the process as well as the consistency of CFD results due to the labour-intensive nature of current methods as well as operator introduced uncertainties in the modelling process. In order to mitigate this dependency, we propose a semi-automated method for patient-specific computational flow modelling of the LV. Using magnetic resonance imaging derived coarse geometry data of a patient's LV endocardium shape throughout a cardiac cycle, we then proceed to refine the geometry to eliminate rough edges before reconstructing meshes for all time frames and finally numerically solving for the intra-ventricular flow. Using a sample of patient-specific volunteer data, we demonstrate that our semi-automated, minimal operator involvement approach is capable of yielding CFD results of the LV that are comparable to other clinically validated LV flow models in the literature.
Cerebral Sinovenous Thrombosis in Children: Diagnosis and Treatment

Cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT) is a pediatric stroke syndrome that occurs uncommonly in association with a number of common pediatric problems, most notably dehydration and infection-otitis media in older children, in particular. Cerebral sinovenous thrombosis involves considerable risk of morbidity and mortality. In the pediatric population, neonates are most commonly affected, but no age group is spared. The clinical manifestations of CSVT vary across age groups and include headache, nausea/vomiting, diplopia, seizures, altered mental status, cranial nerve palsies, and papilledema. Neuroimaging is critical to establishing the diagnosis, and although a variety of modalities are available, the diagnosis is most convincingly made via magnetic resonance imaging with venographic sequencing. Management of CSVT combines medical and surgical approaches and should occur in a multidisciplinary pediatric hospital setting. Anticoagulation is a controversial but generally recommended element of CSVT treatment. Prognosis is related to the extent of vessel and brain parenchymal involvement as well to timeliness of diagnosis and institution of therapy. Long-term follow-up should involve pediatric neurology and ophthalmology and, whenever indicated, rehabilitational therapy as well.
MODELLING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SELF-SCHEMAS, LEARNING AND LEARNING OUTCOMES IN THE DOMAIN OF HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICS

This study explored the relationships among a self-schema, achievement goals, learning approaches and performance in learning high school mathematics. Based on the responses of a group of Australian students to a survey questionnaire, two alternative sets of linear models depicting the relationships among these variables were compared. The findings supported a direct-mediational model of learning engagement, in which a self-schema was taken as the most important independent variable predicting why and how Australian students learnt mathematics albeit that different performance indicators were used during the modelling process. The relationships among a self-schema, achievement goals, learning approaches and performance were discussed. In addition, it was found that a self-schema in mathematics learning opened up three qualitatively different paths of learning, a mastery-focused path, an adaptive performance-focused path and a maladaptive performance-focused path. Overall, the current findings were consistent with a previous study involving a group of Chinese students. They also clarified some major problems in the previous study.
The thickness of facial alveolar bone overlying healthy maxillary anterior teeth.

BACKGROUND A facial bone (<2 mm) overlying maxillary anterior teeth may be prone to resorptive processes after extraction and immediate implant placement. A thin bone contributes to risk of bone fenestration, dehiscence, and soft-tissue recession. This study measures the distance between the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) and alveolar bone crest and the thickness of facial alveolar bone at points 1 to 5 mm from the bone crest for the six maxillary anterior teeth. METHODS Sixty-six tomographic scans (31 males and 35 females; aged 17 to 69 years; mean age: 39.9 years) of intact anterior maxilla were randomly selected and evaluated by two calibrated and independent examiners (MG and TP). RESULTS A high variation of CEJ-bone crest (0.8 to 7.2 mm) was detected. A significantly larger CEJ-bone crest was measured in smokers (P <0.05) and patients who were ≥50 years old (P <0.05). The average bone thickness at 3 mm from the CEJ for the maxillary right central incisor was 1.41 mm and for the maxillary left central incisor was 1.45 mm. For the maxillary right and left lateral incisors, the crestal bone thickness averaged 1.73 and 1.59 mm, respectively. For the maxillary right and left canines, the crestal bone thickness averaged 1.47 and 1.60 mm, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The present study supports the finding of a predominantly thin facial bone overlying the six maxillary anterior teeth. Therefore, it is essential to make informed treatment decisions based on thorough site evaluation before immediate implant placement.
Observer-Based Adaptive Fault-Tolerant Tracking Control of Nonlinear Nonstrict-Feedback Systems

This paper studies an output-based adaptive fault-tolerant control problem for nonlinear systems with nonstrict-feedback form. Neural networks are utilized to identify the unknown nonlinear characteristics in the system. An observer and a general fault model are constructed to estimate the unavailable states and describe the fault, respectively. Adaptive parameters are constructed to overcome the difficulties in the design process for nonstrict-feedback systems. Meanwhile, dynamic surface control technique is introduced to avoid the problem of “explosion of complexity”. Furthermore, based on adaptive backstepping control method, an output-based adaptive neural tracking control strategy is developed for the considered system against actuator fault, which can ensure that all the signals in the resulting closed-loop system are bounded, and the system output signal can be regulated to follow the response of the given reference signal with a small error. Finally, the simulation results are provided to validate the effectiveness of the control strategy proposed in this paper.