Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experiments on Summary-based Opinion Classification

We investigate the effect of text summarisation in the problem of rating-inference -- the task of associating a fine-grained numerical rating to an opinionated document. We set-up a comparison framework to study the effect of different summarisation algorithms of various compression rates in this task and compare the classification accuracy of summaries and documents for associating documents to classes. We make use of SVM algorithms to associate numerical ratings to opinionated documents. The algorithms are informed by linguistic and sentiment-based features computed from full documents and summaries. Preliminary results show that some types of summaries could be as effective or better as full documents in this problem.
Involvement of CD8+ T cells in protective immunity against murine blood‐stage infection with Plasmodium yoelii 17XL strain

When developing malaria vaccines, the most crucial step is to elucidate the mechanisms involved in protective immunity against the parasites. We found that CD8+ T cells contribute to protective immunity against infection with blood‐stage parasites of Plasmodium yoelii. Infection of C57BL/6 mice with P. yoelii 17XL was lethal, while all mice infected with a low‐virulence strain of the parasite 17XNL acquired complete resistance against re‐infection with P. yoelii 17XL. However, the host mice transferred with CD8+ T cells from mice primed only with P. yoelii 17XNL failed to acquire protective immunity. On the other hand, the irradiated host mice were completely resistant to P. yoelii 17XL infection, showing no grade of parasitemia when adoptively transferred with CD8+ T cells from immune mice that survived infection with both P. yoelii XNL and, subsequently, P. yoelii 17XL. These protective CD8+ T cells from immune WT mice had the potential to generate IFN‐γ, perforin (PFN) and granzyme B. When mice deficient in IFN‐γ were used as donor mice for CD8+ T cells, protective immunity in the host mice was fully abrogated, and the immunity was profoundly attenuated in PFN‐deficient mice. Thus, CD8+ T cells producing IFN‐γ and PFN appear to be involved in protective immunity against infection with blood‐stage malaria.
The Effects of Message Valence and Listener Arousal on Attention, Memory, and Facial Muscular Responses to Radio Advertisements

This study tested the validity of using facial electromyography (EMG) as a physiological measure of the valence of radio listeners' emotional responses to advertisements and explored the effects of message valence and listener arousal on attention and memory. A within-subjects experiment was conducted in which participants listened to ten 60-second radio advertisements that had been coded in a pretest as having either a positive or negative emotional tone. Facial EMG, heart rate, and skin conductance data were collected during exposure to the advertisements. Following exposure, participants completed free recall and recogniton memory tests. Results demonstrated the validity of using facial EMG to assess the valence of emotional response to media messages. Heart rate data suggest that negative messages receive more attention than positive ones. Furthermore, how arousing a message is appears to be a better predictor of memory than message valence.
Responsiveness to three bronchial provocation tests in patients with asthma.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To compare a new bronchial provocation test, the mannitol challenge, with cold air and histamine challenges to demonstrate airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in patients with difficult-to-diagnose asthma. DESIGN A prospective study. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-seven consecutive patients with recently diagnosed, steroid-naive, mild, or atypical asthma fulfilling the diagnostic criteria of Finnish Social Insurance Institution, and 10 healthy control subjects. INTERVENTIONS Each subject completed a symptom questionnaire and underwent spirometry, diffusion capacity measurement, skin-prick tests, and bronchial provocations with mannitol, histamine, and cold air. The severity of asthma was classified according to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). RESULTS Fifty-one percent of the asthmatic patients responded to mannitol (> or =15% fall in FEV(1)), 24% to cold air (> or =9% fall in FEV(1)), and 81% or 49% to histamine (provocative dose causing a 15% fall in FEV(1) [PD(15)] < 1.0 mg or < 0.4 mg, respectively). None of the healthy control subjects responded. The GINA classification was not associated with responsiveness to any of the challenges. CONCLUSIONS Mannitol is more sensitive than cold air in demonstrating AHR in patients with mild or atypical asthma. Histamine was more sensitive than both mannitol and cold air if 1.0 mg was used as a cut-off value for histamine PD(15). However, if the cut-off value for histamine PD(15) is lowered to 0.4 mg, which represents a specific diagnosis of asthma according to previous studies, the sensitivity values of mannitol and histamine challenges are comparable.
How Good are They at Doing It ?

Using data on the B.E. Journals that rank articles into four quality tiers, this paper examines the accuracy of the research evaluation process in economics. We find that submissions by authors with strong publication records and authors affiliated with highly-ranked institutions are significantly more likely to be published in higher tiers. Citation success as measured by RePEc statistics also depends heavily on the overall research records of the authors. Finally and most importantly, we measure how successful the B.E. Journals’ editors and their reviewers have been at assigning articles to quality tiers. While, on average, they are able to distinguish more influential from less influential manuscripts, we also observe many assignments that are not compatible with the belief that research quality is reflected by the number of citations.
A generic all-pairs cluster-computing pipeline and its applications

In this paper we propose a generic pipeline for all-pairs computations on a cluster of workstations. We use this generic pipeline to derive specific cluster algorithms for three different all-pairs problems: n-body simulation, bubble sort, and Gaussian elimination. We implement the generic pipeline and its derivatives on a cluster of Intel Pentium II workstations using C and the PVM cluster computing environment. We measure and evaluate the performance of the derived algorithms. The n-body and bubble sort algorithms achieve super-linear speedup for large problems.
Experiences of applicants to counseling psychology programs

Research examining applicants’ experiences using professional psychology training program web sites is scarce at best. This study used an interpretivist-constructivist paradigm, grounded theory methodology, and interpretive and constant comparison analysis to develop a model of the process applicants undergo when applying to Counseling Psychology programs through the use of program web pages. Derived from applicants’ experiences, the model suggests that applicants in this study used the Internet as a primary means for researching programs, deciding on the programs where they would apply, and obtaining application instructions; yet, applicants based their final decision about which program to attend on their interview experiences. This model has important implications for how training programs design their web sites and recruit students. INDEX WORDS: Applicant, Recruitment, Professional Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Web Design, Grounded Theory, Training Program EXPERIENCES OF APPLICANTS TO COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAMS: APPLICANTS’ USE OF TRAINING PROGRAM WEB PAGES
Collaborative Language Learning for Professional Adults

Sustainable support for educational development using new technologies in higher education depends on having a basic roadmap that links current demands for developmental support to a plan for ways in which longer term needs will be recognized and met. The growing demand for lifelong learning of a second language is evident within the workplace where new technologies offer flexible solutions. In order to meet the special needs of working adults, the University of Siena Language Center (CLA) has developed a multiple-level series of blended English courses from beginner to intermediate level for both university technical-administrative personnel and the hospital staff of the Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese (AOUS). The pedagogical approach takes into consideration both the needs of adults who are working full-time and the aims of the curriculum, which are to develop the four linguistic abilities of reading, writing, listening and speaking up to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) Level B1. Taking into consideration a constructive use of both teaching hours and classrooms, as well as the limited time available to adult learners, a blended approach was chosen. The face-to-face (f2f) lessons provide activities concentrating on the development of speaking and listening skills. The online lessons provide a collaborative workspace for interaction in the second language and present a flexible solution for working adults who can structure their study time when and where it is most convenient. This paper will attempt to draw several conclusions regarding the effectiveness of blending approaches for lifelong learning of a second language based on both learner and teacher interviews as well as quantitative and qualitative data collection through questionnaires and end of course evaluation.
Has a mixture of amino acids and micronutrients influence on glucose metabolism and dietary fatty acid pattern in chronic psychosocially stressed persons? A pilot study

Abstract Brain food, e.g. L-tryptophan, antioxidative substances, B vitamins and magnesium are thought to be beneficial for obesity, inflammation and insulin resistance. In the present pilot study we hypothesised that a specific amino acid mixture with micronutrients improves the cardiometabolic situation of chronically stressed persons. Cardiovascular and metabolic parameters were analysed as per protocol in 32 patients. Chronic stress disorders in the same patients were assessed by a psychological neurological questionnaire (PNF). After dietary intervention a reduction of the fasting serum insulin concentrations occurred in the treatment group. An association was found between PNF values, insulin concentrations at baseline and an insulin reduction after 12 weeks. The results support the use of our specific dietary supplement for improved stress management and a decrease in metabolic dysfunction.
Learning to recommend from positive evidence

In recent years, many systems and approaches for recommending information, products or other objects have been developed. In these systems, often machine learning methods that need training input to acquire a user interest profile are used. Such methods typically need positive and negative evidence of the user's interests. To obtain both kinds of evidence, many systems make users rate relevant objects explicitly. Others merely observe the user's behavior, which fairly obviously yields positive evidence; in order to be able to apply the standard learning methods, these systems mostly use heuristics that attempt to find also negative evidence in observed behavior. In this paper, we present several approaches to learning interest profiles from positive evidence only, as it is contained in observed user behavior. Thus, both the problem of interrupting the user for ratings and the problem of somewhat artificially determining negative evidence are avoided. The learning approaches were developed and tested in the context of the Web-based ELFI information system. It is in real use by more than 1000 people. We give a brief sketch of ELFI and describe the experiments we made based on ELFI usage logs to evaluate the different proposed methods.
Gender and History in Southern Africa: A Lesotho “Metanarrative”

ResumeCet article souligne les grandes contributions specifiques apportees par les femmes Basotho au developpement du Lesotho de la fin du 19e siecle a l'avenement de l'independance en 1966. L'auteur declare egalement que les relations entre hommes et femmes et l'ideologie sexuelle au Lesotho ont joue un role crucial dans le processus grâce auquel le capitalisme, les relations entre les races et les classes, et l'etat se sont forges dans cette “reserve de travail” sud-africaine. Etant donne que les themes du travail itinerant, de la rencontre des patriarcats europeen et africain, et du combat des femmes pour survivre et preserver leur dignite sont des themes communs et repandus sur tout le continent, l'analyse mettant l'emphase sur les femmes au Lesotho pourrait bien nous eclairer sur ce qui se passe au-dela de ses frontieres. La narration conclut donc en reaffirmant l'importance d'une “metanarration” materialiste feministe, qui couvrirait l'histoire des femmes et des sexes en Afrique.
Teaching Engineering Students Creativity: A Review of Applied Strategies

Recent studies have emphasized the necessity of educating creative engineers. This paper aims to provide a literature review by answering what strategies can be applied to develop creativity in engineering education. As the literature demonstrates, creativity has been studied by a diversity of perspectives such as psychology, social psychology and sociology. Studies on engineering creativity indicate the importance of problem-solving skills for engineers. For developing creativity, strategies such as using thinking tools, learning by solving problems and building learning environment conductive to creativity have been suggested in engineering education. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a strategy of developing creativity. So characteristics of PBL, learning cycle in PBL and methods for enhancing group dynamics in PBL are discussed in this paper. In addition, Aalborg University in Denmark is introduced as an example of PBL strategy.
Residential Satisfaction of Older Adults in Age-Segregated Facilities

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the residential satisfaction of town home residents of an independent living facility. Twenty-one residents of a private-pay retirement facility with an assisted living facility on site participated in focus groups to explore themes of residential satisfaction. Seventy-nine residents responded to a follow-up mail survey. Results show that residents expected safe and supportive environments and stability in the environments they had chosen. These older residents valued good design and construction, friendly neighbors, privacy, efficient handling of maintenance concerns, and accessible management. The residents were most satisfied with neighborhood and housing characteristics and least satisfied with maintenance and management. Residents of nonsubsidized housing, who have more housing choices, may have high expectations of quality and maintenance. Managers should be aware of residents’ expectations of responsiveness and friendliness. Loss of control to management may be an ongoing concern.
Influence of phantom thickness and material on the backscatter factors for diagnostic x-ray beam dosimetry

Most of the existing backscatter factors for the dosimetry of clinical diagnostic x-ray beams have been calculated for 15 cm thick phantoms; these data are used for skin dose determinations which in general ignore the influence of phantom material and thickness. The former should strictly be required whenever dosimetry measurements are made on phantom materials different from those used for the backscatter factor calculations. The phantom or patient thickness is of special importance when skin dose determinations are made for infants or paediatric patients. In this work, the recently published formalism for reference dosimetry and comprehensive database of backscatter factors for clinical beams and water phantoms have been extended using two correction factors which account for phantom material and thickness. These were determined with simulations using the PENELOPE Monte Carlo system, for PMMA to analyse the influence of the phantom material relative to water, and for a broad range of thicknesses of water and PMMA to investigate the role of this parameter in patient dose estimates. The material correction factor was found to be in the range 3–10%, depending on the field size and the HVL. The thickness correction factor was in the range 2–12% for a 5 cm thick phantom and square field sizes between 5 and 35 cm, reaching a plateau of about ±1% for thicknesses beyond 13 cm. Expressions in the form of surface fits over the calculated data are provided which streamline the determination of backscatter factors for arbitrary thicknesses and phantom materials, as well as field sizes. Results demonstrate the inadequacy of using conventional backscatter factors (calculated for 15 cm thick phantoms) without correction factors that take into account the phantom material and its thickness.
Selective and Secure Over-The-Air Programming for Wireless Sensor Networks

The growing range of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) applications, their long-life and large-scale design, as well as various deployment fields necessitate the feasibility of remote maintenance and reprogramming of in-situ sensor nodes. The network-wide dissemination of program code is not appropriate in every WSN due to the heterogeneity of sensor hardware, the diversity of sensing tasks, and the event and location dependency of software. Thus, a flexible and group-wise selective Over-The-Air Programming (OTAP) is required in these scenarios. Furthermore, securing the OTAP protocol is imperative in order to prevent unauthorized and malicious reprogramming attempts. In this paper, we introduce SenSeOP, a selective and secure OTAP protocol for WSNs. For this purpose, the proposed protocol uses multicast transfer supported by asymmetric cryptography. We evaluate the performance of our approach in real testbeds, compare it with state-of-the-art protocols, and show that this approach enables efficient and reliable wireless reprogramming.
Clinical, imaging and cystometric findings of voiding dysfunction in children.

UNLABELLED The AIM of the study was to validate some of the imaging criteria for voiding dysfunction in children. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included a number of 55 children with voiding dysfunction symptoms. They were investigated clinically as well as through imaging techniques: renourinary ultrasound, voiding cystourethrography and cystometry. RESULTS The most common symptoms were urgency (87.3%), increased frequency (81.8%), and daytime urinary incontinence (76.3%). Ultrasound scans detected a reduced bladder capacity in 65.5% patients. The voiding cystourethrography detected bladder trabeculations (58.2%) and spinning top urethra (63.6%). Cystometric recordings indicated overactive bladder in 70.9% patients. Reduced bladder capacity detected by ultrasound associated with trabeculated bladder and spinning top urethra detected by voiding cystourethrography in a patient with specific symptoms may suggest an overactive bladder. In CONCLUSION, voiding dysfunction in child can be diagnosed by minimal or non-invasive methods.
Variance estimation using refitted cross‐validation in ultrahigh dimensional regression

Summary. Variance estimation is a fundamental problem in statistical modelling. In ultrahigh dimensional linear regression where the dimensionality is much larger than the sample size, traditional variance estimation techniques are not applicable. Recent advances in variable selection in ultrahigh dimensional linear regression make this problem accessible. One of the major problems in ultrahigh dimensional regression is the high spurious correlation between the unobserved realized noise and some of the predictors. As a result, the realized noises are actually predicted when extra irrelevant variables are selected, leading to a serious underestimate of the level of noise. We propose a two‐stage refitted procedure via a data splitting technique, called refitted cross‐validation, to attenuate the influence of irrelevant variables with high spurious correlations. Our asymptotic results show that the resulting procedure performs as well as the oracle estimator, which knows in advance the mean regression function. The simulation studies lend further support to our theoretical claims. The naive two‐stage estimator and the plug‐in one‐stage estimators using the lasso and smoothly clipped absolute deviation are also studied and compared. Their performances can be improved by the refitted cross‐validation method proposed.
Conceptualising Animal Abuse with an Antisocial Behaviour Framework

Simple Summary There is increasing acceptance of the links between animal abuse and aggressive or antisocial behaviours toward humans. Nevertheless, researchers and other professionals continue to call for methodologically sound empirical research amongst claims that current animal abuse research is methodologically limited. Below, I argue that current conceptualizations of antisocial and aggressive human behavior logically incorporate animal abuse. Given that the body of empirical evidence available to support of theories of antisocial and aggressive behaviour is large and sound, conceptualization of animal abuse as an aggressive behaviour rather than a behaviour that is somehow different, enables us to confidently promote putting current understanding into practice. Abstract This paper reviews current findings in the human aggression and antisocial behaviour literature and those in the animal abuse literature with the aim of highlighting the overlap in conceptualisation. The major aim of this review is to highlight that the co-occurrence between animal abuse behaviours and aggression and violence toward humans can be logically understood through examination of the research evidence for antisocial and aggressive behaviour. From examination through this framework, it is not at all surprising that the two co-occur. Indeed, it would be surprising if they did not. Animal abuse is one expression of antisocial behaviour. What is also known from the extensive antisocial behaviour literature is that antisocial behaviours co-occur such that the presence of one form of antisocial behaviour is highly predictive of the presence of other antisocial behaviours. From such a framework, it becomes evident that animal abuse should be considered an important indicator of antisocial behaviour and violence as are other aggressive and antisocial behaviours. The implications of such a stance are that law enforcement, health and other professionals should not minimize the presence of animal abuse in their law enforcement, prevention, and treatment decisions.
Local Journalism and the Information Needs of Local Communities

This paper presents a three-level conceptual and methodological framework for assessing local journalism and the extent to which it meets community information needs. This research grows from frequent calls from policymakers, foundations, and advocacy groups for methods and measures to facilitate comparative analyses of the state of local journalism in different communities. Further, the goal here is to develop a methodological approach that can be realistically scaled to large numbers of communities in order to facilitate analysis of both the factors that affect the state of local journalism and the ways local journalism may affect the state of local communities. The methodological approach presented here focuses on infrastructure (the availability of journalistic sources), output (the quantity of journalistic output from these sources), and performance (the extent to which this output is original, is about the local community, and addresses critical information needs). An exploratory application of this methodological approach is then presented for three communities. The results indicate substantial differences in the journalism infrastructure, output, and performance across these communities and suggest possible points of focus for future research.