Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
From Experience with Indoor Wireless Networks: A Link Quality Metric that Captures Channel Memory

With ARQ based link-layer schemes, energy consumption on a link increases with packet retransmissions. We define the inefficiency of a link as the expected number of transmissions before a packet is successfully received on that link. Memory in the packet success process, caused by long indoor coherence times, strongly influences inefficiency. Based on measurements, we build a simple model for the packet success process that incorporates memory and predicts our metric practically and accurately. In particular, inefficiency is asymptotically linear in the memory duration when there is a nonzero probability of a deep fade, and approximately logarithmic otherwise.
Low level laser therapy reduces acute lung inflammation without impairing lung function

Acute lung injury is a condition characterized by exacerbate inflammatory reaction in distal airways and lung dysfunction. Here we investigate the treatment of acute lung injury (ALI) by low level laser therapy (LLLT), an effective therapy used for the treatment of patients with inflammatory disorders or traumatic injuries, due to its ability to reduce inflammation and promote tissue regeneration. However, studies in internal viscera remains unclear. C57BL/6 mice were treated with intratracheal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (5 mg/kg) or phosphate buffer saline (PBS). Six hours after instillation, two groups were irradiated with laser at 660 nm and radiant exposure of 10 J/cm2. Intratracheal LPS inoculation induced a marked increase in the number of inflammatory cells in perivascular and alveolar spaces. There was also an increase in the expression and secretion of cytokines (TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6,) and chemokine (MCP‐1). The LLLT application induced a significant decrease in both inflammatory cells influx and inflammatory mediators secretion. These effects did not affect lung mechanical properties, since no change was observed in tissue resistance or elastance. In conclusion LLLT is able to reduce inflammatory reaction in lungs exposed to LPS without affecting the pulmonary function and recovery.
Spoken Language Comprehension in Older Adults: Interactions between Sensory and Cognitive Change in Normal Aging

Adult aging is accompanied by changes in cognitive factors, such as a general slowing in perceptual and cognitive operations, a limitation in working memory capacity, and reduced efficiency of executive function in dividing attention. This article considers how these factors join with changes in hearing ability to affect how well older adults are able to comprehend speech and encode that understanding in memory for later use. Factors receiving special attention are negative effects of rapid speech rates and speech heard in background noise. Also examined are positive effects of linguistic context and effective use of speech prosody in speech comprehension and recall in older adults.
Interdisciplinarity and social power

This paper takes up the problem of how to structure a productive and genuine inter- disciplinary engagement from the standpoint of geography. It examines first what makes inter- disciplinarity difficult, focusing on the production of disciplinary cultures that define the material practices, social relations and epistemological commitments characteristic of a field of study. The paper then considers why interdisciplinarity seems to be in the ascendant and why and how geography has been used in this project. It cautions against a reductionist or imperialist style of interdisciplinary work and encourages geographers to develop their own approach to a productive engagement with other fields, in part through attending to the interdisciplinarity inherent in our own.
On the distribution of the peak-to-average power ratio in OFDM signals

The distribution of the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) in strictly band-limited orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signals is studied. Assuming that the base-band OFDM signal is characterized as a band-limited complex Gaussian process, we first attempt to derive the exact distribution of the PAPR in the band-limited OFDM signals. Since this distribution cannot be expressed in a closed form, we further develop a simple closed-form approximation, based on the level-crossing rate analysis. Comparisons of the proposed distributions with those obtained by computer simulations show good agreement and convergence with an increase in the number of subcarriers.
Social and Emotional Learning in Middle School.

ers have been bombarded during the past two decades. Now, experts suggest that teachers need to provide instruction for social and emotional learning (SEL) (e.g., Goleman 1995; Sylwester 1995; Elias et al. 1997; O'Neil 1997). So it is appropriate for teachers to ask, What is SEL? What are its goals? Why is it necessary? What does SEL have to do with the social studies? And why focus on SEL in the middle grades? These are the questions we address in this article. Additionally, we explain how middle school social studies teachers, in particular, can foster social and emotional learning in their classrooms.
Tuberculosis in a cohort of HIV-positive patients: epidemiology, clinical practice and treatment outcomes.

OBJECTIVE To describe tuberculosis (TB) incidence, risk factors, clinical presentation, disease management and outcomes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients from the CoRIS cohort, Spain, 2004-2010. DESIGN Open multicentre cohort of antiretroviral treatment (ART) naïve patients at entry. Incidence and risk factors were evaluated using multivariate Poisson regression. RESULTS Among 6811 patients, 271 were eligible for the study and 198 for the estimation of the incidence rate; TB incidence ranged from 12.1 to 14.1/1000 person-years. TB was associated with low education level (rate ratio [RR] 2.65, 95%CI 1.73-4.07), being sub-Saharan African (RR 3.14, 95%CI 1.81-5.45), heterosexual (RR 2.01, 95%CI 1.22-3.29) or an injecting drug user (RR 2.11, 95%CI 1.20-3.69), not undergoing ART (RR 3.33, 95%CI 2.22-4.76), CD4 <200 cells/mm(3) (RR 5.20, 95%CI 3.25-8.33) and log-viral load of 4-5 (RR 5.44, 95%CI 3.28-9.02) or >5 (RR 13.10, 95%CI 8.27-20.76). Overall, 87% were new cases and 13% were previously treated cases; 175 (65%) were bacteriologically confirmed. Drug susceptibility testing was performed in 146 (83%) patients: resistance to first-line drugs was 11.1% in new and 36.4% in previously treated cases. Standard anti-tuberculosis treatment with four or three drugs was prescribed in respectively 55% and 36% of cases. Treatment default was 11%, and was higher among previously treated cases; 80% received ART during anti-tuberculosis treatment, 80% of new and 50% of previously treated cases were cured or completed treatment, and 18 (6.6%) died. CONCLUSION TB incidence in HIV-infected patients remains high. Interventions should include early HIV diagnosis and access to ART, enhanced bacteriological confirmation, wider use of four-drug regimens and reduction in treatment default.
Activation of Real-World Knowledge in the Solution of Word Problems

This article describes two studies that examine factors influencing children's access to real-world knowledge during the solution of word problems. In the first study, based on work in Brazil by Carraher, Carraher, and Schliemann (1987), children were asked to solve arithmetic problems presented in three contexts: (a) as word problems, (b) in simulated store situations, and (c) as symbolic computations. Brazilian children were both more successful and more likely to use mental, informal strategies when solving word problems than when solving symbolic computations. We did not find the same results with our U.S. sample; no effects of context were found in either strategy use or success. Comparison of U.S. and Brazilian children's responses suggested that children may tend to access real-world content when the numbers in a word problem match the problem content, and a second study was conducted to test this interpretation. Children were presented with word problems in which the problem content either matched.
Visual short-term memory: Central capacity limitations in short-term consolidation

We investigated whether there are central capacity limitations on consolidating information in visual short-term memory (VSTM). Subjects performed a visual memory task (deciding if two displays were the same or different) and a speeded tone pitch discrimination. When the tasks were performed concurrently, interference was observed in both tasks, suggesting that VSTM consolidation requires central resources. The cost of consolidating information in VSTM (as indexed by tone task performance) did not change as the number of to-be-consolidated items was increased, in contrast to previous work that used verbal materials (Jolicœur & Dell'Acqua, 1998). Results from Experiments 2 and 3 suggest that this apparent difference reflected a contribution from verbal coding in previous studies. Experiments 1 and 4 provided evidence that the capacity limitations had a central locus and were not merely due to preparing for a secondary task.
Electoral Institutions and the Politics of Coalitions: Why Some Democracies Redistribute More Than Others

Standard political economy models of redistribution, notably that of Meltzer and Richard (1981), fail to account for the remarkable variance in government redistribution across democracies. We develop a general model of redistribution that explains why some democratic governments are more prone to redistribute than others. We show that the electoral system plays a key role because it shapes the nature of political parties and the composition of governing coalitions, hence redistribution. Our argument implies (1) that center-left governments dominate under PR systems, whereas center-right governments dominate under majoritarian systems; and (2) that PR systems redistribute more than majoritarian systems. We test our argument on panel data for redistribution, government partisanship, and electoral system in advanced democracies.
Software Defect Prediction Using Regression via Classification

In this paper we apply a machine learning approach to the problem of estimating the number of defects called Regression via Classification (RvC). RvC initially automatically discretizes the number of defects into a number of fault classes, then learns a model that predicts the fault class of a software system. Finally, RvC transforms the class output of the model back into a numeric prediction. This approach includes uncertainty in the models because apart from a certain number of faults, it also outputs an associated interval of values, within which this estimate lies, with a certain confidence. To evaluate this approach we perform a comparative experimental study of the effectiveness of several machine learning algorithms in a software dataset. The data was collected by Pekka Forselious and involves applications maintained by a bank of Finland.
Does the ‘Monitorial Citizen’ Exist? An Empirical Investigation into the Occurrence of Postmodern Forms of Citizenship in the Nordic Countries

Various authors have claimed that in contemporary Western societies postmodern concepts of citizenship are becoming more prevalent. A new generation of ‘critical citizens’ are said to be more critical of the political system and less likely to participate in conventional politics, but they remain strongly interested in politics and social life. Michael Schudson has developed the concept of a ‘monitorial citizen’, who is interested in politics, has high levels of political efficacy and turns to political action if needed, but stays outside the traditional political organizations. Based on the European Social Survey (2004), this article investigates whether this type of citizenship actually occurs in Scandinavia. While the authors find that this form of citizenship is present in the Nordic countries, the characteristics of this group do not fit the theoretical expectations. In Scandinavia, ‘monitorial citizens’ do not have exceptionally high education levels and their trust in traditional political institutions remains quite elevated. The authors discuss the reasons why the concept of ‘monitorial citizens’ does not seem to flourish all that well in the Nordic countries, and what this implies for the theoretical debate about the political consequences of this postmodernization process.
Stress among national politicians elected to Parliament for the first time

Previous research has shown that levels of stress among national politicians are higher than among workers in comparable management jobs. The election of 236 new Members of Parliament (MPs) in the 1997 UK General Election permitted longitudinal study. The General Health Questionnaire-12 and Occupational Stress Indicator measured psychological and physical stress in comparable groups at pre-election (T1; n = 29) or 3-month post-election (T2; n = 66) time-points and at 1-year follow-up (T3; n = 66). Stress increased from T1 to T2 and was predicted by factors at the home–work interface (p < 0.001). Politicians in poor psychological health reported long working hours and no emotional support (p < 0.05). At T3 psychological symptoms returned to T1 levels, while physical stress remained elevated for male MPs, those with children and those in the party in Government (p < 0.05).
The psychosocial environment: towards an agenda for research

Purpose – To review current knowledge regarding the workplace psychosocial environment including the nature and outcomes of organizational stressors and the effectiveness of workplace stress interventions.Design/methodology/approach – Provides a narrative review of the extant literature and extrapolate findings from the emergent literature on positive psychology.Findings – A great deal is known about the environmental characteristics that cause or contribute to workplace stress. The literature on interventions is more sparse.Research limitations/implications – Research on the psychosocial environment must move beyond a reliance on cross‐sectional, self‐report data, focus on demonstrating the effectiveness and utility of organizational interventions and expand the domain of psychosocial research to include a more positive focus.Originality/value – Provides three central propositions for advancing research on the psychosocial environment in organizations.
Synaptic potentials evoked by convergent somatosensory and corticocortical inputs in raccoon somatosensory cortex: substrates for plasticity.

1. "Unmasking" of weak synaptic connections has been suggested as a mechanism for the early changes in cortical topographic maps that follow alterations of sensory activity. For such a mechanism to operate, convergent sensory inputs must already exist in the normal cortex. 2. We tested for topographic and cross-modality convergence in primary somatosensory cortex of raccoon. The representation of glabrous skin of forepaw digits was chosen because, even though it is dominated by inputs from the glabrous skin of a single digit, it nevertheless comes to respond to stimulation of other digits when, e.g., a digit is removed. 3. Intracellular recordings were made from 109 neurons in the representation of glabrous skin of digit 4. Neurons were tested for somatosensory inputs with electrical and natural stimulation of digits. 4. Excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) were evoked in 100% of the neurons (109/109) by electrical stimulation of glabrous skin of digit 4, and in 79% (31 of 39) by vibrotactile stimulation. 5. Glabrous skin of digit 4 was not the sole source of somatosensory inputs. A minority of neurons generated EPSPs after electrical stimulation of hairy skin of digit 4 (10 of 98 neurons, 10%). Electrical stimulation of digits 3 or 5 evoked EPSPs in 22 of 103 neurons (21%). Natural stimulation (vibrotactile or hair bending) was also effective in most of these latter cases (digit 3, 6/7; digit 5, 9/10). 6. Intracortical microstimulation of the "heterogeneous zone" was used to test for corticocortical connections to neurons in the glabrous zone. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Surgical management of congenital tracheal stenosis associated with tracheal bronchus and congenital heart disease.

OBJECTIVES Congenital tracheal stenosis (CTS) is variable in patients with tracheal bronchus and congenital heart disease (CHD). Tracheoplasty remains a high-risk surgical treatment. METHODS From January 2007 to December 2014, 24 CTS patients (10 males and 14 females; age 20.6 ± 13.6 months) with tracheal bronchus and CHD underwent one-stage surgical correction. Clinical features of all patients included dyspnoea, or recurrent pulmonary infections. There was long-segment CTS in 13 cases (54%), and 4 cases were associated with a bridging bronchus. Less than 50% of normal tracheal size was identified in 21 cases. Complete tracheal or bronchial rings were identified in all cases. Operative techniques included: tracheal end-to-end anastomosis in 11 cases and slide tracheoplasty in 13 cases, which included 11 cases of right upper lobe bronchus (RULB) opposite side-slide tracheoplasty. RESULTS There were 2 operative deaths, due to postoperative tracheomalacia or residual main bronchial stenosis. The duration of postoperative hospital stay was 7-59 days, with an average of 19 days. Follow-up was completed in 19 cases. The follow-up duration was from 1 month to 7 years. Tracheal granulation occurred in 1 case. Clinical symptoms were significantly improved in the remaining patients. CONCLUSIONS Tracheal bronchi have special anatomical features. The techniques of tracheal end-to-end anastomosis or side-slide tracheoplasty can be used to correct tracheal stenosis with satisfactory outcomes.
Prevalence and Mediating Factors of Post-Traumatic Stress in Professional Fire-Fighters

Previous studies on Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) in fire-fighters have typically examined group responses to unusual and traumatic events. In this study, symptoms of PTS were observed in a group of urban Canadian firefighters during routine operations in the context of typical daily work. Participants completed a PTS questionnaire as well as a workplace health questionnaire which assessed environmental and contextual factors in addition to personal health. Elevated levels of PTS were observed in 18.1% of the 105 fire-fighters studied. Those who reported elevated symptoms also reported more concern for financial issues, more worries and more concern about needing physical exercise and support services. These results indicate that emergency response professionals such as fire-fighters can develop elevated levels of PTS in the context of routine work. The findings also suggest that the development of PTS involves a complex relationship between characteristics of stressors, work related variables and other contextual factors specific to the individuals affected. Complex models are needed to account for these types of interactions, particularly in chronically stressful occupational settings. Strategies for mitigating symptoms of PTS are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered
Construct Validity of a Learning Environment Survey for Medical Schools

A survey devised by Marshall (1978) to measure students' perceptions of their medical school was completed by undergraduates at two schools with radically different approaches to medical education. The survey proved to be reliable in terms of its internal consistency, and exhibited strong validity for a construct of school learning environment. Differences found between the two schools were not specific to medical education, which raised the prospect of the survey's extension to similar evaluations in any other educational institution.
Does diversity in urban space enhance intergroup contact and tolerance?

Abstract. Contemporary urban theory has started to question the elevation of diversity as a panacea for enduring urban problems – segregation, prejudice and intergroup hostility. This critique coincides with an opposite tendency within classic contact theory and research. The latter tradition has developed an increasing enthusiasm for face‐to‐face interaction. The contact hypothesis, which presupposes established contact, has received conclusive support independent of target groups and contact settings. Research on ‘lived diversity’, which includes both contact and lack of contact, offers two supplementary insights. It shows, on the one hand, that boundaries are inscribed in social spaces. Physical proximity between ethnic and social groups tends to have a minor effect on interaction. Interaction, on the other hand, is not essential to attitude formation. Both subfields within contact research have confirmed that urban space may act as a catalyst for tolerant attitudes. This observation corresponds with increasing recognition of affective states, such as empathy, anxiety and group threat. Contact research has therefore, in summary, transcended the scope of the contact hypothesis. It has expanded into the realm of urban theory, which foreshadows future collaboration between the two traditions. Some key points for such exchange are suggested at the end of the article. Future research should combine an open‐ended approach to casual contact with a diversified conception of diversity and a richer conception of urban space. A move in this direction would leave substantial space for geographical research.
Expanding Talent Search Procedures by Including Measures of Spatial Ability: CTY's Spatial Test Battery

The importance of spatial ability for success in a variety of domains, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), is widely acknowledged. Yet, students with high spatial ability are rarely identified, as Talent Searches for academically talented students focus on identifying high mathematical and verbal abilities. Consequently, students with high spatial abilities who do not also have high math or verbal abilities may not qualify. In an effort to identify students with spatial talent, the Center for Talented Youth developed a Spatial Test Battery to supplement its mathematical and verbal Talent Searches. This article traces the development of the battery; describes its components, important psychometric properties, and continuing development; and encourages its use by researchers and educators interested in developing spatial talent.
Longterm outcomes of auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation in preadolescent children with fulminant hepatic failure

By preserving part of the native liver, auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation (APOLT) provides the advantage of potential immunosuppression (ISP) withdrawal if the native liver recovers but has had limited acceptance, especially in the United States, due to technical complications and low rates of native liver regeneration. No previous study has evaluated APOLT specifically for preadolescent children with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF). This population might benefit especially based on greater capacity for liver regeneration. Data from 13 preadolescent children who underwent APOLT were compared to 13 matched controls who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for FHF from 1996 to 2013. There were no significant differences in patient demographics or survival between the 2 groups. However, all surviving OLT recipients (10/13) remain on ISP, while all but 1 surviving APOLT recipient (12/13) showed native liver regeneration, and the first 10 recipients (76.9%) are currently off ISP with 2 additional patients currently weaning. In our experience, APOLT produced excellent survival and high rates of native liver regeneration in preadolescent children with FHF. This represents the largest series to date to report such outcomes. Liberating these children from lifelong ISP without the downside of increased surgical morbidity makes APOLT an attractive alternative. In conclusion, we therefore propose that, with the availability of technical expertise and with the technical modifications above, APOLT for FHF should be strongly considered for preteenage children with FHF. Liver Transplantation 22 485‐494 2016 AASLD