Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Short-Term Predictability of Load Series: Characterization of Load Data Bases

This paper proposes the use of two indicators of the predictability of the load series along with an accuracy value such as mean average percentage error as standard measures of load forecasting performance. Over the last 10 years, there has been a significant increase in load forecasting models proposed in engineering journals. Most of these models provide a description of the inner design of the model, the results from applying this model to a specific data base and the conclusions drawn from this application. However, a single accuracy value may not be sufficient to describe the performance of the model when applied to other data bases. The aim of this paper is to provide researchers with a tool that is able to assess the predictability of a load series and, therefore, contextualize the forecasting accuracy reported. Nine different data bases from the U.S. have been used; all of them include hourly load and temperature data.
Alteration of a single nucleotide allows efficient binding of H2TF1/KBF1 to the immunoglobulin kappa enhancer B motif

NF-kappa B (a protein present constitutively only in B cells) and H2TF1/KBF1 (a more ubiquitously distributed protein[s]) are two transcription factors that recognize very similar DNA sequences. However, the binding site associated with the kappa immunoglobulin gene enhancer (kappa B) is recognized predominantly by NF-kappa B. Using synthetically altered recognition sequences, we showed that the B-cell-specific NF-kappa B-binding site in the kappa enhancer can be converted to one that binds both NF-kappa B and the ubiquitous protein(s) H2TF1/KBF1 by substitution of a single nucleotide. Furthermore, transient transfection experiments suggested that NF-kappa B and H2TF1/KBF1 are functionally different even though their DNA recognition specificities are very similar.
Standardizing the intensity of upper limb treatment in rehabilitation medicine

Objective: To describe a treatment protocol for the upper limb that standardizes intensity of therapy input regardless of the severity of presentation. Design: The protocol is described (Part 1) and feasibility and effect explored (Part 2). Subjects: Participants (n = 11) had a single ischaemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory more than one year previously, and had residual weakness of the hand with some extension present at the wrist and the ability to grasp. Interventions: Following two baseline assessments, participants attended therapy for 1 hour a day for 10 consecutive working days. Treatment consisted of a combination of strength and functional task training. Outcomes were measured immediately after training, at one month and three months. Outcome measures: Intensity was measured with Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion. Secondary outcome measures included Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), nine-hole peg test, and Goal Attainment Scale. Results: Borg scores indicated that the level of intensity was appropriate and similar across all participants despite individual differences in the severity of their initial presentation (median (interquartile range) = 14 (13—15)). The mean ARAT score significantly increased by 6.8 points (χ2(3) = 15.618, P<0.001), and was maintained at three-month follow-up (z = - 2.384, P = 0.016). The nine-hole peg test also showed a main effect of time and 88% of goals set were achieved. Conclusions: The physiotherapy protocol standardized intensity of treatment by grading exercise and task-related practice according to the person’s residual ability, rather than simply standardizing treatment times. It was feasible and well tolerated in this group.
Adversarially Tuned Scene Generation

Generalization performance of trained computer vision (CV) systems that use computer graphics (CG) generated data is not yet effective due to the concept of domain-shift between virtual and real data. Although simulated data augmented with a few real-world samples has been shown to mitigate domain shift and improve transferability of trained models, guiding or bootstrapping the virtual data generation with the distributions learnt from target real world domain is desired, especially in the fields where annotating even few real images is laborious (such as semantic labeling, optical flow, and intrinsic images etc.). In order to address this problem in an unsupervised manner, our work combines recent advances in CG, which aims at generating stochastic scene layouts using large collections of 3D object models, and generative adversarial training, which aims at training generative models by measuring discrepancy between generated and real data in terms of their separability in the space of a deep discriminatively-trained classifier. Our method uses iterative estimation of the posterior density of prior distributions for a generative graphical model. This is done within a rejection sampling framework. Initially, we assume uniform distributions as priors over parameters of a scene described by a generative graphical model. As iterations proceed the uniform prior distributions are updated sequentially to distributions that are closer to the unknown distributions of target data. We demonstrate the utility of adversarially tuned scene generation on two real world benchmark datasets (CityScapes and CamVid) for traffic scene semantic labeling with a deep convolutional net (DeepLab). We obtained performance improvements by 2.28 and 3.14 points on the IoU metric between the DeepLab models trained on simulated sets prepared from the scene generation models before and after tuning to CityScapes and CamVid respectively.
The Effect of Using Token Economy and Social Reinforcement to stimulate Preschool Students' Vegetable and Fruit Consuming Behavior

This research aimed to 1) study the result of using token economy and social reinforcement toward behavior of eating vegetables and fruits of experimentation group of preschool children and 2) compare behavior of eating vegetables and fruits of preschool children between before and after experimentation. Target group for this research was five students at age 4-5 years, studying in kindergarten level 2 at Khon Kaen Vithes Suksa School, during the first semester of 2010 academic year. They had also eaten vegetables and fruits less than one-quarter (25%) of the quantity they were determined to eat. Instruments for collecting data consisted of parent questionnaire, reinforcer survey form, evaluation form for eating vegetables and fruits, score record form for eating vegetables and fruits and record form for rewards redemption. Data was analyzed through statistic of the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. Research findings were found as follows: 1) Behavior of eating vegetables and fruits of experimental group of students reinforced by token economy and social reinforcement was increasingly found. 2) After experimentation, this group of students could have higher scores of eating vegetables and fruits with statistical significance level at ". 05".
Psychological problems in New Zealand primary health care: a report on the pilot phase of the Mental Health and General Practice Investigation (MaGPIe).

AIM To carry out a pilot study in two regions in order to investigate prevalence of psychological problems in primary care in New Zealand. METHOD General Practitioners (GPs) within two geographic regions were randomly selected. All adult attenders at their practice on selected days were administered a short questionnaire, the GHQ-12, which assesses the presence of psychological symptoms. The GP recorded the reasons for each consultation, and was interviewed at the end of each day about selected patients, to determine their opinion about the type of psychological problems experienced. RESULTS Three-quarters of selected GPs (76%) agreed to participate. 96% of patients attending their GP agreed to complete the GHQ. Scores from 385 completed GHQ screening questionnaires suggested that 23.4% of GP patients had significant psychological symptoms. When GPs were asked about the main reason for consultation, they identified only 5.7% of current consultations as being for psychological reasons. In contrast, the GPs thought that 20.6% of patients described having some symptoms which were either mildly, moderately or completely psychological in the current consultation, and recognised that 17.4% of their patients had a mild, moderate or severe case of psychological disorder over the past twelve months. CONCLUSION GPs identified one in five of their patients as having symptoms which were mildly, moderately or completely psychological, although psychological factors were the main reason for consultation in only one patient in twenty. Previous reports of very low rates of psychological problems among GP attenders in New Zealand have been thought to indicate major differences in access to health care or prevalence of common mental disorders within primary care services in this country. However, the apparently low rates of conspicuous mental disorder in New Zealand general practices may be better explained as an artifact of the type of questions asked.
Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Global Warming in the Tibetan Plateau during the Last 50 Years Based on a Generalised Temperature Zone - Elevation Model

Temperature is one of the primary factors influencing the climate and ecosystem, and examining its change and fluctuation could elucidate the formation of novel climate patterns and trends. In this study, we constructed a generalised temperature zone elevation model (GTEM) to assess the trends of climate change and temporal-spatial differences in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) using the annual and monthly mean temperatures from 1961–2010 at 144 meteorological stations in and near the TP. The results showed the following: (1) The TP has undergone robust warming over the study period, and the warming rate was 0.318°C/decade. The warming has accelerated during recent decades, especially in the last 20 years, and the warming has been most significant in the winter months, followed by the spring, autumn and summer seasons. (2) Spatially, the zones that became significantly smaller were the temperature zones of −6°C and −4°C, and these have decreased 499.44 and 454.26 thousand sq km from 1961 to 2010 at average rates of 25.1% and 11.7%, respectively, over every 5-year interval. These quickly shrinking zones were located in the northwestern and central TP. (3) The elevation dependency of climate warming existed in the TP during 1961–2010, but this tendency has gradually been weakening due to more rapid warming at lower elevations than in the middle and upper elevations of the TP during 1991–2010. The higher regions and some low altitude valleys of the TP were the most significantly warming regions under the same categorizing criteria. Experimental evidence shows that the GTEM is an effective method to analyse climate changes in high altitude mountainous regions.
Clinical Options in Relapsed or Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma: An Updated Review

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a potentially curable lymphoma, and modern therapy is expected to successfully cure more than 80% of the patients. Second-line salvage high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (auto-SCT) have an established role in the management of refractory and relapsed HL, leading to long-lasting responses in approximately 50% of relapsed patients and a minority of refractory patients. Patients progressing after intensive treatments, such as auto-SCT, have a very poor outcome. Allogeneic SCT represents the only strategy with a curative potential for these patients; however, its role is controversial. Based on recent knowledge of HL pathology, biology, and immunology, antibody-drug conjugates targeting CD30, small molecule inhibitors of cell signaling, and antibodies that inhibit immune checkpoints are currently explored. This review will discuss the clinical results regarding auto-SCT and allo-SCT as well as the current role of emerging new treatment strategies.
Several new considerations in mitral valve repair.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY A retrospective evaluation was made of a small personal series of patients undergoing mitral valve repair in order to address four contemporary questions: (i) What is the best method of achieving a stable repair in mitral valve prolapse? ; (ii) How should patients with pure annular dilatation without prolapse or antecedent ischemia be categorized? ; (iii) Are valve procedures in ischemic mitral regurgitation (MR) still associated with less satisfactory early and late outcomes? ; and (iv) Is prophylactic amiodarone therapy safe and effective in reducing postoperative arrhythmias? METHODS Between 1993 and 2002, a total of 118 patients with non-rheumatic MR undergoing isolated mitral valve repair with or without coronary bypass was analyzed retrospectively: of these patients, 66 had prolapse (Group I), 21 had pure annular dilatation (Group II), and 31 had ischemic MR (Group III). All three groups routinely underwent Carpentier ring annuloplasty. Twenty-three patients in Group I were managed with leaflet resection and reconstruction (LRR), but in 1996 the technique for Group I was changed to uniform artificial chordal replacement (ACR) and no leaflet resection (n = 43). Also in 1996, prophylactic amiodarone therapy was first used routinely, and postoperative arrhythmia data were compared to those from prior patients. Baseline and outcome variables were assessed for each group and compared between the three groups. Survival data were evaluated using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS Significant differences in baseline characteristics were observed: Group II was predominantly female; Group III more often experienced acute presentation; and Groups II and III had more comorbid disorders and left ventricular dysfunction (all p < 0.01). ACR was highly successful for repair of prolapse, and no ACR patient exhibited significant residual MR or outflow tract obstruction. Operative mortality and morbidity were low in all groups, and ischemic etiology failed to be an independent predictor of early or late adverse outcome (p > 0.10). Cox model analysis to nine years of follow up (median 4 years) identified only advanced age and number of comorbidities as influencing late mortality (both p < 0.03). Over the follow up period, 8.7% of LRR patients required reoperation for valve failure due to late chordal rupture, whereas none of the ACR patients failed. Finally, prophylactic amiodarone significantly reduced postoperative arrhythmias (p = 0.03) with no observed complications, and also eliminated death due to arrhythmia. CONCLUSION Ischemic etiology may be diminishing as an independent risk factor in Group III, at least partially because of uniform valve repair. Group II comprised a distinct entity of females with higher comorbidity, and prophylactic amiodarone therapy seemed useful as a routine measure. Finally, ACR appeared to produce a stable repair in virtually all Group I patients, suggesting that prolapse might be appropriately managed with ring annuloplasty and uniform ACR. However, future studies are suggested for further consideration of these hypotheses.
Immigrant Chinese American Women: Negotiating Values and Perceptions of Self in the Cultural Borderlands of East and West: A Qualitative Study

This phenomenological study looked at how immigrant Chinese American women negotiate differences in values and perceptions of the self in the cultural borderlands of East andWest. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 women. Participants were raised in the East and are now residing and raising their children in aWestern context. Predominant themes that emerged were the contradictions and ambiguities experienced in the struggle to be both adaptive and culturally appropriate in the new context. Also, it was found that organizing principles remained largely unchanged over the two generations. The experiences of these women suggest that assimilation is a long-term and ongoing process.
Covert Reactions to Big Five Personality Traits: The Impact Message Inventory and the NEO-PI-R

Summary: Participants (n = 168) rated acquaintances' personality using the NEO Personality Inventory - Revised (NEO-PI-R; Peer Rating Form) and the Impact Message Inventory (IMI) to examine the relationship between the interpersonal circumplex and Big Five models of personality. Results support the predicted finding that the NEO scales of Extraversion and Agreeableness load most strongly on the circumplex regions of Friendly-Dominance and Friendly-Submissiveness, respectively. Unexpectedly, the NEO domains of Neuroticism, Conscientiousness and Openness (to a lesser extent) also show projections onto circular structure.
Exploring social preferences in private–collective innovation

Firms, research institutions and individuals have long realised the advantages of innovating in an open manner. Companies such as IBM, Philips and Procter & Gamble, increasingly seek to cooperate with outside individuals and organisations to tap into their ideas for new products and services. This approach makes good business sense, but it is also difficult to achieve. In particular, mechanisms that motivate innovators to ‘open up’ are critical in achieving the benefits of open innovation. Private–collective innovation (PCI) has become an increasingly important model for explaining innovation at the boundaries of traditional, closed and open innovation regimes. Previous work has examined PCI both conceptually and empirically, and recent scholarship has focused specifically on the initiation of PCI as it relates to problems of collective action. This work shows that a project will not ‘take off’ unless the right incentives are in place for innovators to contribute their knowledge to open innovation from the beginning. Drawing on behavioural game theory, this paper expands on prior work by exploring social preferences in the initiation of PCI. The authors conducted a simulation study that shows how inequality aversion, reciprocity and fairness affect the underlying conditions that lead to the initiation of PCI. The results indicate that reciprocity and the potential gains for other participants explain changes in individual knowledge sharing in PCI.
Lithium augmentation in the treatment of refractory depression in old age

A retrospective study of treatment and outcome is described in 59 consecutive referrals to a catchment psychogeriatric service meeting ICD9 criteria for manic depressive illness or depressive neurosis. Of 22 who failed to respond to tricyclic antidepressants, nine (of whom four had also failed to respond to ECT) were treated by lithium augmentation. Systematic comparisons between lithium‐treated subjects, tricyclic responders and others failing to respond to tricyclics revealed no significant demographic differences. Lithium augmentation was successful in 6/9 subjects. Two ‘lithium failures’ were treated with tranylcypromine to good effect. At follow‐up (median six months, range 3–20 months) 7/9 subjects in the lithium‐treated group were well. This was similar to the follow‐up status in tricyclic responders and significantly better than outcome in the other tricyclic non‐responders. Lithium augmentation appears to be a relatively well‐tolerated treatment manoeuvre in refractory depression in old age, with treatment response similar to that reported in younger subjects, and may be of particular use where ECT has failed.
Alzheimer's disease amyloidogenic glycoprotein: expression pattern in rat brain suggests a role in cell contact.

The cloned cDNA encoding the rat cognate of the human A4 amyloid precursor protein was isolated from a rat brain library. The predicted primary structure of the 695‐amino acid‐long protein displays 97% identity to its human homologue shown previously to resemble an integral membrane protein. The protein was detected in rodent brain and muscle by Western blot analysis. Using in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry on rat brain sections, we discovered that rat amyloidogenic glycoprotein (rAG) and its mRNA are ubiquitously and abundantly expressed in neurons indicating a neuronal original for the amyloid deposits observed in humans with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The protein appears in patches on or near the plasma membranes of neurons suggesting a role for this protein in cell contact. Highest expression was seen in rat brain regions where amyloid is deposited in AD but also in areas which do not contain deposits in AD. Since amyloid deposits are rarely observed in rat brain, we conclude that high expression of AG is not the sole cause of amyloidosis.
A Comparative Study of Fouling and Bottom Ash from Woody Biomass Combustion in a Fixed-Bed Small-Scale Boiler and Evaluation of the Analytical Techniques Used

In this work, fouling and bottom ash were collected from a low-power boiler after wood pellet combustion and studied using several analytical techniques to characterize and compare samples from different areas and determine the suitability of the analysis techniques employed. TGA results indicated that the fouling contained a high amount of organic matter (70%). The XRF and SEM-EDS measurements revealed that Ca and K are the main inorganic elements and exhibit clear tendency in the content of Cl that is negligible in the bottom ash and increased as it penetrated into the innermost layers of the fouling. Calcite, magnesia and silica appeared as the major crystalline phases in all the samples. However, the bottom ash was primarily comprised of calcium silicates. The KCl behaved identically to the Cl, preferably appeared in the adhered fouling samples. This salt, which has a low melting point, condenses upon contact with the low temperature tube and played a crucial role in the early stages of fouling formation. XRD was the most useful technique applied, which provided a semi-quantitative determination of the crystalline phases. FTIR was proven to be inadequate for this type of sample. The XRF and SEM-EDS, techniques yield similar results despite being entirely different.
Metabolism of Bupropion by Carbonyl Reductases in Liver and Intestine

Bupropion’s metabolism and the formation of hydroxybupropion in the liver by cytochrome P450 2B6 (CYP2B6) has been extensively studied; however, the metabolism and formation of erythro/threohydrobupropion in the liver and intestine by carbonyl reductases (CR) has not been well characterized. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the relative contribution of the two metabolism pathways of bupropion (by CYP2B6 and CR) in the subcellular fractions of liver and intestine and to identify the CRs responsible for erythro/threohydrobupropion formation in the liver and the intestine. The results showed that the liver microsome generated the highest amount of hydroxybupropion (Vmax = 131 pmol/min per milligram, Km = 87 μM). In addition, liver microsome and S9 fractions formed similar levels of threohydrobupropion by CR (Vmax = 98–99 pmol/min per milligram and Km = 186–265 μM). Interestingly, the liver has similar capability to form hydroxybupropion (by CYP2B6) and threohydrobupropion (by CR). In contrast, none of the intestinal fractions generate hydroxybupropion, suggesting that the intestine does not have CYP2B6 available for metabolism of bupropion. However, intestinal S9 fraction formed threohydrobupropion to the extent of 25% of the amount of threohydrobupropion formed by liver S9 fraction. Enzyme inhibition and Western blots identified that 11β-dehydrogenase isozyme 1 in the liver microsome fraction is mainly responsible for the formation of threohydrobupropion, and in the intestine AKR7 may be responsible for the same metabolite formation. These quantitative comparisons of bupropion metabolism by CR in the liver and intestine may provide new insight into its efficacy and side effects with respect to these metabolites.