Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activity-Aware Computing for Healthcare

In this article, we introduce activity-aware computing, which uses activity-based computing to enhance pervasive environments in two ways: to help users associate resources and services with activities, resulting in seamless interaction with those resources and services, and to enable pervasive environments to automatically infer activities and thus opportunistically offer services that support the user's current goal. Thus, activity-aware applications persuade users to commit themselves to the technology, moving from a paradigm of activity-based ";interaction"; toward one of activity-aware ";engagement"; with a computationally augmented environment. We present a set of tools for developing activity-aware applications, including a computational representation of human activities that we defined using data from a hospital case study we conducted. We also used the data to create an activity recognition approach and a set of design principles for developing activity-aware applications. The mobile activity monitor we designed to create a wearable connection between patients and nurses exemplifies our design principles.
Attention Training in the Reduction and Reappraisal of Intrusive Thoughts

Attention Training (ATT) is an auditory attention-focusing technique that attempts to reduce the perseverative self-focused processing characteristic of anxiety and mood disorders. The present study investigated the effects of one session of ATT in the reduction and reappraisal of intrusive thoughts in a university sample reporting high levels of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. One-hundred and eight participants identified their most distressing intrusive thought and spent 7 minutes monitoring their stream of consciousness while recording occurrences of the identified thought. They then rated the unpleasantness of the intrusive thought, their attempts to dismiss the thought from consciousness, and their perceived success in reducing the frequency of the thought. Participants were then randomly assigned to receive one session of ATT, thought replacement instructions (TR), distraction instructions (DI), or no intervention (CONT). Participants then repeated the thought monitoring interval and ratings. ATT was expected to be the most effective in decreasing the frequency and unpleasantness of intrusive thoughts. However, contrary to hypotheses, all groups reported similar decreases across intervals. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Prognostic factors for radiographic progression, radiographic damage, and disability in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the rate of radiographic progression and identify prognostic factors of radiographic progression, radiographic damage, and physical disability in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). METHODS Ninety-four JIA patients with a median disease duration of 1.1 years were followed up prospectively for a median of 4.5 years. Bilateral wrist radiographs were obtained at baseline, at 1 year, and at the last followup visit. Radiographic damage was assessed by the carpal length (Poznanski score), and physical disability by the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (C-HAQ). Yearly radiographic progression, the Poznanski score at the final visit, and the C-HAQ score at the final visit were used as outcome measures. Baseline parameters included demographic, clinical, laboratory, and radiographic data. RESULTS The mean +/- SD Poznanski score was -1.2 +/- 1.3 at baseline, -1.7 +/- 1.8 at the 1-year visit, and -1.9 +/- 2.2 at the final visit (P < 0.0001). Radiographic progression was greater during the first year (mean +/- SD -0.5 +/- 1.1) than between the 1-year visit and the final visit (-0.2 +/- 1.3). The mean yearly radiographic progression during the entire study period was -0.1 +/- 0.4. Logistic regression analysis revealed that radiographic progression during the first year was the only baseline parameter that was predictive of all 3 study outcomes. The final Poznanski score was also predicted by the baseline Poznanski score, whereas female sex was protective against radiographic progression. CONCLUSION We identified the prognostic factors for poorer outcome in polyarticular-course JIA. The changes in the early Poznanski score can be used to predict long-term joint damage and physical disability.
TECHNIQUE FOR ANALYZING OVERLAPPING MEMBERSHIPS

Sociologists study the structure or pattern of relationships among individuals and among groups. The sharing of common members is an important relationship, as is the pattern of overlapping members. I will first discuss few instances of sociological concern with the pattern of overlapping memberships in order to clarify the problems that this chapter will solve. The pattern of interlocking directorates among business organizations can give information about the power centralization in a society. Lieberson (1971) suggests that an analysis of the pattern of interlocking directorates among the largest business organizations sheds light on whether the power-elite view or the pluralist view of American society is the more accurate. Lieberson confines himself to a few selected facts (for instance, that the boards of the seven largest New York City banks in 1965 included officials from 51 of the largest 500 industrial companies). Although suggesting the value of a thorough analysis of interlocking directorates, Lieberson does not attempt to provide it.
Forms of embeddedness and discourses of engagement: a case study of universities in their local environment

The paper explores two universities' strategies of impact and engagement and their perceptions by local economic and policy stakeholders in a post-industrial city of Scotland. The concept of structural embeddedness is used to unpack the logics and repertoires of action of local universities and to relate discourses and actions to the nature and intensity of the relationship between universities and the local context. In contrast with the dominant knowledge and innovation research paradigm presenting universities as key drivers of regional economic development and competitiveness, the paper suggests multiple and at times contradictory levels of impact of universities depending on their capacity to embed themselves in regional development strategies and socio-economic regeneration programmes. The conclusion suggests that the nature and returns of universities' local engagement approaches are determined by their position on the higher education market as much as by their embeddedness in the local economy, culture and polity.
Identifying Necessary Conditions for Open-Ended Evolution through the Artificial Life World of Chromaria

A full understanding of open-ended evolutionary dynamics remains elusive. While artiﬁcial life worlds have been proposed to study such dynamics and tests have been devised to try to detect them, no theory yet has enumerated the key conditions that are essential to inducing them. The aim of this paper is to further such an understanding by hypothesizing four conditions that are essential for open-ended evolution to prosper. Of course, any such conditions must be satisﬁed by nature (the clearest example of an open-ended domain), but we do not know the scope or range of possible worlds that could achieve similarly impressive results. To complement the hypothesized conditions, a new artiﬁcial life world called Chromaria is introduced that is designed explicitly for testing them. Chromaria, which is intended to deviate from Earth in key respects that highlight the breadth of possible worlds that can satisfy the four conditions, is shown in this paper to stagnate when one of the four conditions is not met. This initial controlled experiment thereby sets the stage for a broad research program and conversation on investigating and controlling for the key conditions for open-ended evolution.
Binaural Model-Based Speech Intelligibility Enhancement and Assessment in Hearing Aids

The enhancement of speech intelligibility in noise is still the main subject in hearing aid research. Based on the advanced results obtained with the hearing glasses, in the present research the speech intelligibility is even further improved by the application of binaural post-filters. The functionalities of these filters are related to the principles of the auditory scene analysis. A statistical analysis of binaural cues in noise at the output of different hearing aids, the utilization of a Bayesian classifier in the source separation process and an evolutionary optimization against binaural models of speech intelligibility provides a comprehensive understanding for the utilization of binaural post-filters in adverse environments. As the listening ease and a fair amount of speech quality are mandatory in speech enhancement, tradeoffs between speech intelligibility and quality were studied in terms of the preservation of natural binaural cues and the suppression of musical noise.
Galectin-1 as a therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer: the tumor stroma in the spotlight

Treating pancreatic cancer is one of the great challenges in cancer research and identification of new strategies is a must, considering the poor efficiency of standard chemotherapy and current patients’ dismal prognosis. We have recently identified Galectin-1 as a master regulator driving pancreatic cancer progression in the Ela-myc model. Interestingly, Galectin-1 depletion in these tumors not only results in decreased tumor cell proliferation but also in a profound remodeling of the desmoplastic reaction, impairing angiogenesis, stroma activation and boosting the animal immune response. Intriguingly, our experimental data indicate that Galectin-1 regulates the Hedgehog signaling pathway, which may well be responsible for some of the effects driven by the lectin in pancreatic cancer. We herein discuss how Galectin-1 may remodel the tumor microenvironment in this pathology and highlight its potential as a therapeutic target.
Identification of neuronal network properties from the spectral analysis of calcium imaging signals in neuronal cultures

Neuronal networks in vitro are prominent systems to study the development of connections in living neuronal networks and the interplay between connectivity, activity and function. These cultured networks show a rich spontaneous activity that evolves concurrently with the connectivity of the underlying network. In this work we monitor the development of neuronal cultures, and record their activity using calcium fluorescence imaging. We use spectral analysis to characterize global dynamical and structural traits of the neuronal cultures. We first observe that the power spectrum can be used as a signature of the state of the network, for instance when inhibition is active or silent, as well as a measure of the network's connectivity strength. Second, the power spectrum identifies prominent developmental changes in the network such as GABAA switch. And third, the analysis of the spatial distribution of the spectral density, in experiments with a controlled disintegration of the network through CNQX, an AMPA-glutamate receptor antagonist in excitatory neurons, reveals the existence of communities of strongly connected, highly active neurons that display synchronous oscillations. Our work illustrates the interest of spectral analysis for the study of in vitro networks, and its potential use as a network-state indicator, for instance to compare healthy and diseased neuronal networks.
Case studies on passivity-based stabilisation of closed sets

We present a novel control design procedure for the passivity-based stabilisation of closed sets which leverages recent theoretical advances. The procedure involves using part of the control freedom in order to enforce a detectability property, while the remaining part is used for passivity-based stabilisation. The procedure is illustrated in four case studies of path following coordination for one or two kinematic unicycles, and variations of these problems. Among other things, we present a smooth global path following controller making the unicycle converge to an arbitrary closed and strictly convex curve, and a coordinated path following controller for two unicycles.
Daily Mapping of 30 m LAI and NDVI for Grape Yield Prediction in California Vineyards

Wine grape quality and quantity are affected by vine growing conditions during critical phenological stages. Field observations of vine growth stages are too sparse to fully capture the spatial variability of vine conditions. In addition, traditional grape yield prediction methods are time consuming and require large amount grape samples. Remote sensing data provide detailed spatial and temporal information regarding vine development that is useful for vineyard management. In this study, Landsat surface reflectance products from 2013 and 2014 were used to map satellite-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and leaf area index (LAI) over two Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot Noir vineyards in California, USA. The spatial correlation between grape yield maps and the interpolated daily time series (LAI and NDVI) was quantified. NDVI and LAI were found to have similar performance as a predictor of spatial yield variability, providing peak correlations of 0.8 at specific times during the growing season, and the timing of this peak correlation differed for the two years of study. In addition, correlations with maximum and seasonal-cumulative vegetation indices were also evaluated, and showed slightly lower correlations with the observed yield maps. Finally, the within-season grape yield predictability was examined using a simple strategy in which the relationship between grape yield and vegetation indices were calibrated with limited ground measurements. This strategy has a strong potential to improve the accuracy and efficiency of yield estimation in comparison with traditional approaches used in the wine grape growing industry.
Diversifying European agglomerations: evidence of urban population trends for the 21st century

The beginning of the 21st century marks the first time in history that more than half of the world's population lives in urban areas. In Europe, more than 70% of the population lives in urban areas today. This number is likely to increase to 84% by 2050. However, a shift from growth to decline of urban population is already present for a growing number of cities. The paper examines urban population trends for 158 European agglomerations and assesses the dynamics behind one particular development of growth or decline. Using data from 1991 to 2004, we present statistical evidence of diversifying population trajectories for core cities and fringe areas. The quantitative results are contrasted with the widespread accepted cyclical urbanisation model that has been expounded as a theoretical approach to describe previous and future stages of European urban development. The structural approach of the model is discussed because we believe that such concepts do not reflect the dynamics of present urban development in Europe. The paper argues that the urban agglomerations studied do not show a single evolutionary stage of urban development. Rather, we found a coexistence of intensifying suburbanisation and developing reurbanisation, which is mainly driven by younger households. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sex Role Orientation, Self-Esteem, and Depression: A Latent Variables Analysis

Latent variables analysis was used to investigate the relationships among sex role orientation, self-esteem, and depression. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that masculinity, self-esteem, and depression were separate, but highly correlated, constructs and that femininity was independent of the other three constructs. A hierarchical CFA indicated that masculinity, self-esteem, and depression were components of a higher-order construct, identified as Factor IV (Negative Affectivity) of the 'Big Five"personality taxonomy. The results of a covariance structure analysis were consistent with two models of the role of self-esteem in the masculinity-depression relationship: self-esteem and masculinity as correlated predictors of depression and self-esteem as a mediator of the masculinity-depression relationship. Implications of these results for theory and research are discussed.
Effects of Training on the Use of a Manual Microphone Shutoff on a BiCROS Device.

BACKGROUND Bilateral contralateral routing of signals (BiCROS) hearing aids function to restore audibility of sounds originating from the side of the unaidable ear. However, when speech is presented to the side of the aidable ear and noise to the side of the unaidable ear, a BiCROS arrangement may reduce intelligibility of the speech signal. This negative effect may be circumvented if an on/off switch is available on the contralateral routing of signals (CROS) transmitter. PURPOSE This study evaluated if the proper use of the on/off switch on a CROS transmitter could enhance speech recognition in noise and sound localization abilities. The participants' subjective reactions to the use of the BiCROS, including the use of the on/off switch in real-life were also evaluated. RESEARCH DESIGN A between-subjects, repeated-measures design was used to assess differences in speech recognition (in quiet and in noise) and localization abilities under four hearing aid conditions (unaided, unilaterally aided, fixed BiCROS setting, and adjusted BiCROS setting) with speech and noise stimuli presented from different azimuths. Participants were trained on the use of the on/off switch on the BiCROS transmitter before testing in the adjusted BiCROS settings. Subjective ratings were obtained with the Speech, Spatial, and Sound Quality (SSQ) questionnaire and a custom questionnaire. STUDY SAMPLE Nine adult BiCROS candidates participated in this study. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Participants wore the Widex Dream-m-CB hearing aid on the aidable ear for 1 week. They then wore the BiCROS for the remainder of the study. Speech recognition and localization testing were completed in four hearing aid conditions (unaided, unilateral aided, fixed BiCROS, and adjusted BiCROS). Speech recognition was evaluated during the first three visits, whereas localization was evaluated over the course of the study. Participants completed the SSQ questionnaire before each visit. The CROS questionnaire was completed at the final visit. A repeated measures analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc analysis was used to evaluate the significance of the results on speech recognition, localization, and the SSQ. RESULTS The results revealed that the adjusted BiCROS condition improved speech recognition scores by 20 rau (rationalized arcsine unit) when speech was presented to the aidable ear and localization by 37% when sounds are presented from the side of the unaidable ear over the fixed BiCROS condition. Statistically significant benefit on the SSQ was also noted with the adjusted BiCROS condition compared to the unilateral fitting. CONCLUSIONS These findings supported the value of an on/off switch on a CROS transmitter because it allows convenient selective transmission of sounds. It also highlighted the importance of instructions and practice in using the BiCROS hearing aid successfully.
“I Am Who I Am”: Black Masculinity and the Interpretation of Individualism in the Film Barbershop

This essay will provide further insight into how Black audiences interpret a popular culture text by focusing upon how a group of young black men construct Black masculinity as depicted in the film Barbershop. Interestingly, a rhetorical community of young Black men discussed the representations of the characters in the film from a perspective of Black individualism rather than reaffirming identity through a collective orientation toward the culture. This reading contrasts with much of the “ghettocentric” film literature by highlighting how a Black audience's interpretation of a text can focus on individualism rather than on cultural representations and stereotypes.
17 β -Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 and type 2 in human breast carcinoma: a correlation to clinicopathological parameters

The expression of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17β-HSD) type 1 and type 2 was examined immunohistochemically in 111 invasive ductal carcinomas, and correlated with various clinicopathological parameters. This study investigates local regulatory mechanisms of oestrogens in human breast carcinoma. 17β-HSD type 1 was immunolocalized in carcinoma cells of 68 out of 111 invasive ductal carcinoma cases (61.3%). 17β-HSD type 2 immunoreactivity was not detected in all cases examined. A significant inverse correlation was observed between the immunohistochemical expression of 17β-HSD type 1 and histological grade of the carcinoma (P< 0.02). There was a significant correlation between 17β-HSD type 1 and oestrogen receptor (ER) labelling index (LI) (P< 0.05). In addition, carcinoma cells expressing immunoreactive 17β-HSD type 1 were frequently positive for ER. 17β-HSD type 1 was also correlated with progesterone receptor (PR) LI (P< 0.05). There was a significant inverse correlation between 17β-HSD type 1 and Ki-67 LI (P< 0.0001). No significant correlations were detected between 17β-HSD type 1 and other clinicopathological parameters, including patient age, menopausal status, stage, tumour size, lymph node status and prognosis. This study suggests that 17β-HSD type 1 plays an important role in the regulation of in situ oestradiol production in hormone-dependent breast carcinomas. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign
Changes in religiosity and spirituality following potentially traumatic events

The purpose of our study was to investigate spiritual and religious changes in the context of life adversities. Specifically, we compared university students (n = 122) who had recently experienced a potentially traumatic event (PTE) and a matched comparison group (n = 122) who had not experienced a recent PTE, in terms of: (1) the amount of actual and self-perceived positive and negative change in religiosity and spirituality; (2) the relations between perceived and actual positive and negative spiritual change; and (3) the relation between change in religiosity and spirituality and change in distress. Although there were small actual and perceived changes in religiosity and spirituality within each group, there were no between-group differences in terms of religious and spiritual change. Thus, changes over time in these life domains are not unique to PTE exposure. As expected, the relations between actual and perceived changes were small, highlighting that perceived and actual change are different constructs. Finally, differences between the two groups in the relations between religious and spiritual change and distress suggested that changes in these life domains may reflect coping efforts in the PTE group. We discuss the counseling and research implications of these results.
Betwixt and between: the perceived legitimacy of campus police

Purpose – The literature on campus police (CP) is not as developed as mainstream or municipal police (MP). While there are several studies discussing the perception of CP, there are, however, no empirical studies investigating the perception of CP based on their legitimacy. Through the theoretical framework of liminality, this paper aims to address the literature gap by examining the perceived legitimacy of CP compared to MP.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through the use of survey instruments distributed among 593 college undergraduates at a doctoral extensive land grant institution in the Pacific Northwest. Since the purpose of the study was to determine student perceptions of legitimacy between MP and CP, two surveys were utilized to capture those perceptions, one for each police group respectively. The two sets of surveys were equally administered in each selected class.Findings – Through the framework of liminality, this research demonstrates the marginalization of CP as sworn law e.