Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of enhanced psychosocial care on antipsychotic use in nursing home residents with severe dementia: cluster randomised trial

Abstract Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of a training and support intervention for nursing home staff in reducing the proportion of residents with dementia who are prescribed neuroleptics. Design Cluster randomised controlled trial with blinded assessment of outcome. Setting 12 specialist nursing homes for people with dementia in London, Newcastle, and Oxford. Participants Residents of the 12 nursing homes; numbers varied during the study period. Intervention Training and support intervention delivered to nursing home staff over 10 months, focusing on alternatives to drugs for the management of agitated behaviour in dementia. Main outcome measures Proportion of residents in each home who were prescribed neuroleptics and mean levels of agitated and disruptive behaviour (Cohen-Mansfield agitation inventory) in each home at 12 months. Results At 12 months the proportion of residents taking neuroleptics in the intervention homes (23.0%) was significantly lower than that in the control homes (42.1%): average reduction in neuroleptic use 19.1% (95% confidence interval 0.5% to 37.7%). No significant differences were found in the levels of agitated or disruptive behaviour between intervention and control homes. Conclusions Promotion of person centred care and good practice in the management of patients with dementia with behavioural symptoms provides an effective alternative to neuroleptics.
Friend-inthe-middle Attacks Technical Report TR-SBA-Research-0710-01

In the ongoing arms race between spammers and the multimillion dollar anti-spam industry, the number of unsolicited e-mail messages (better known as “spam”) and phishing has increased heavily in the last decade. In this paper, we show that our novel friend-in-the-middle attack on social networking sites (SNSs) can be used to harvest social data in an automated fashion. This social data can then be exploited for large-scale attacks such as context-aware spam and social-phishing. We prove the feasibility of our attack exemplarily on Facebook and identify possible consequences based on a mathematical model and simulations. Alarmingly, all major SNSs are vulnerable to our attack as they fail to secure the network layer appropriately.
Facilitating Healthy Ageing: Neuroprotective Effects of Mindfulness Practice

Mindfulness-based meditation practices involve various attentional skills including the ability to sustain and focus ones attention. During a simple mindfulness based breath awareness meditation, sustained attention is required to maintain focus on the breath while meta-cognitive awareness and executive control are required to detect and correct mind wandering. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate whether a simple, mindfulness based breath awareness meditation, administered over a short period to meditation naive individuals could modulate core attentional functions and associated task related neural activity. Two longitudinal randomised control studies were conducted. The aim of the first study was to establish if said modulations were possible in a sample of healthy adults, meeting a current research need for longitudinal evidence in this field and providing important information regarding a potential mechanism for the salutary effects widely observed from the use of mindfulness based interventions. It was found that short term engagement with a mindfulness based breath awareness meditation can modulate core attentional functions and task related neural activity, with specific modulations found in electrophysiological markers of sustained attention to the goal/task at hand and perceptual stimulus discrimination. In line with current theoretical models it is argued that modulations to such core attentional processes following short term training may provide a platform upon which mindfulness related salutary effects are built. The second study was designed to establish if such modulations were possible in older adults. It is argued that mindfulness training may have utility for increasing cognitive reserve, a potential mechanism by which age related declines in cognitive functions may be mitigated. It was found that both behavioural and electrophysiological markers of core attentional functions were modulated following 8 weeks mindfulness training but not following a matched active control group condition (simple brain training exercises). The reviewed extant evidence and findings of this study suggest that mindfulness meditation may enhance cognitive reserve through the repeated activation of attentional functions and associated neural activity during practice and are consistent with recent theoretical models of cognitive reserve. The potential for mindfulness training to positively modulate core attentional functions in older adults and to potentially impact cognitive ageing demands further investigation.
Pitfalls in the Use of a Continuous Performance Test as a Diagnostic Tool in Attention Deficit Disorder

Although automated continuous performance tests (CPT) are gaining popularity as aids to the diagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADD), little is known of their validity in this context. Our preliminary experience with a commercially available visual CPT indicated that as many as a third of children meeting the DMS-III criteria for ADD may score well enough on this measure to escape detection. We therefore analyzed the results of neuropsychological testing as well as CPT performance in 14 ADD children and six non-ADD children in an effort to determine whether CPT performance might reflect higher level cognitive variables other than attention and/or impulsivity. We found that those ADD children classified as “abnormal” on the basis of the CPT scored significantly below those classified as “normal” on measures of abstract reasoning and logical problem solving, simple verbal reasoning, nonverbal problem solving, and simple arithmetic skills. The non-ADD group contained a high proportion (83%) of subjects with CPT performance outside of the normal range. These data suggest that CPT may yield both false negative and false positive results when used as screening tools for ADD, and we recommend therefore that caution be used in their interpretation.
Atomic Oxygen Maximization in High-Voltage Pulsed Cold Atmospheric Plasma Jets

This paper presents a new device generating high-voltage pulsed cold atmospheric plasma jets. With these plasmas, the quantity of atomic oxygen (and, accordingly, the chemical activity) is a lot higher than that in previous researches. The main characteristic of the new device is the usage of three tubular needle-type electrodes connected in parallel. By applying high-voltage pulses (with 20-30-kV amplitude, duration of hundreds of nanoseconds, and hundreds of pulses per second), three independent discharges are formed in the discharge room. The plasma-forming gas is He, with a low quantity of oxygen introduced through the high-voltage electrodes. Each discharge has an optimal percentage of 0.5 % vol. O2 in He, which maximizes the quantity of atomic oxygen in the plasma. The plasmas of the three discharges unite to a single jet though, which contains a quantity of atomic oxygen that is a lot higher than that of the plasma of each discharge. The emission spectra of the plasma jets show the maximization of the intensity of the O I 777 nm line when a concentration of 1.5% vol. O2 in He (three times higher than so far) is introduced in the plasma-forming gas.
Positioning: Dialogical voice in mind and culture

The article combines discourse analysis and dialogical self theory to propose an integrated model of positioning processes in social interaction. The model incorporates social positioning—a focus for discursive psychology—with reflexive positioning—a focus for dialogical self theory. To illustrate the model, a fictionalized scenario is presented involving two people who meet for a date at a restaurant. The discursive dynamics of the scenario are then parsed using the model. The sequelae to the encounter take in the social rules for conducting dates at restaurants, but also the life trajectories of those concerned, their social worlds, and their internal micro-dialogues. Bakhtin’s concept of “loophole” is invoked to conceptualize reflexivity in the self, in the context of interactional dialogues. In discussion, the prospects for using fictional accounts as tools for developing psychological theory are considered. Without innovation in methods, advances in our understanding of positioning processes may be compromised.
Overview of the TAC2013 Knowledge Base Population Evaluation: English Slot Filling and Temporal Slot Filling

We overview two tracks of the TAC2013 Knowledge Base Population (KBP) evaluation: English slot filling (SF) and temporal slot filling (TSF). The goal of these two KBP tracks is to promote research in the extraction of relations between named entities from free text (SF), and identify the temporal intervals when these relations were valid (TSF). The main changes this year include the requirement for a stricter textual justification of the extracted relations for SF, and a simplification of the TSF task, where the relation to be temporally grounded is given as input. These two tracks attracted 43 registered teams, out of which 20 teams submitted a run in at least one of the tracks.
A comparative evaluation of the fracture resistance of three different pre-fabricated posts in endodontically treated teeth: An in vitro study

Aims: To compare the fracture resistance and primary mode of failure of three different pre- fabricated posts like stainless steel, carbon fiber and ceramic posts in endodontically treated crowned permanent maxillary central incisors. Materials and Methods: Root canal treatment was performed on all 30 maxillary central incisors. Post space was prepared and samples were divided into three groups of 10 each. The teeth were inserted with pre-fabricated stainless steel, carbon fiber and ceramic post and cemented using adhesive resins, core fabricated and crowns placed. Mode of failure was carried out by immersing the teeth in black ink for 12 h and then sectioning them mesio-distally. Fracture above the embedded resin was considered favorable and fracture below the resin level was considered unfavorable. Statistical Analysis: Fracture strength was measured using a universal testing machine. Data were evaluated statistically using the Kruskal Wallis test and the Mann Whitney “U”-test. Mode of failure was evaluated statistically using the chi-square test. Results: There was a statistically significant difference showing that the stainless steel post had a better fracture resistance when compared with the other two posts and the carbon fiber showed a statistically more favorable fracture when compared with the other two posts. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that the pre-fabricated stainless steel post exhibited a significantly higher fracture resistance at failure when compared with the carbon fiber post and the ceramic post. The mode of failure of the carbon fiber post was more favorable to the remaining tooth structure when compared with the pre-fabricated stainless steel post and the ceramic post.
PEBBLE GAMES AND LINEAR EQUATIONS

Abstract We give a new, simplified and detailed account of the correspondence between levels of the Sherali–Adams relaxation of graph isomorphism and levels of pebble-game equivalence with counting (higher-dimensional Weisfeiler–Lehman colour refinement). The correspondence between basic colour refinement and fractional isomorphism, due to Tinhofer [22; 23] and Ramana, Scheinerman and Ullman [17], is re-interpreted as the base level of Sherali–Adams and generalised to higher levels in this sense by Atserias and Maneva [1] and Malkin [14], who prove that the two resulting hierarchies interleave. In carrying this analysis further, we here give (a) a precise characterisation of the level k Sherali–Adams relaxation in terms of a modified counting pebble game; (b) a variant of the Sherali–Adams levels that precisely match the k-pebble counting game; (c) a proof that the interleaving between these two hierarchies is strict. We also investigate the variation based on boolean arithmetic instead of real/rational arithmetic and obtain analogous correspondences and separations for plain k-pebble equivalence (without counting). Our results are driven by considerably simplified accounts of the underlying combinatorics and linear algebra.
Effectful applicative bisimilarity: Monads, relators, and Howe's method

We study Abramsky's applicative bisimilarity abstractly, in the context of call-by-value λ-calculi with algebraic effects. We first of all endow a computational λ-calculus with a monadic operational semantics. We then show how the theory of relators provides precisely what is needed to generalise applicative bisimilarity to such a calculus, and to single out those monads and relators for which applicative bisimilarity is a congruence, thus a sound methodology for program equivalence. This is done by studying Howe's method in the abstract.
The Possible Clinical Predictors of Fatigue in Parkinson's Disease: A Study of 135 Patients as Part of International Nonmotor Scale Validation Project

Fatigue is a common yet poorly understood and underresearched nonmotor symptom in Parkinson's disease. Although fatigue is recognized to significantly affect health-related quality of life, it remains underrecognised and empirically treated. In this paper, the prevalence of fatigue as measured by a validated visual analogue scale and the Parkinson's disease nonmotor symptoms scale (PDNMSS) was correlated with other motor and nonmotor comorbidities. In a cohort of patients from a range of disease stages, occurrence of fatigue correlated closely with more advanced Parkinson's disease, as well as with depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders, hinting at a common underlying basis.
The Challenges of Integrating Entrepreneurship Education in the Vocational Training System: An Insight from Tanzania's Vocational Education Training Authority.

Purpose – This paper seeks to discuss the challenges faced when trying to integrate entrepreneurship education in the training system, with a particular focus on vocational training.Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected through in‐depth interviews, document reviews and focus group discussions. The respondents were drawn from VETA headquarters – training director, centre managers, entrepreneurship instructors in the centre, and a section of final year students who were purposively selected. Other stakeholders in vocational training in Tanzania were also consulted.Findings – The findings were organized around key themes of the research as per the set objectives. The emerging views showed some of the following issues as the major challenges facing the authority in its effort to integrate entrepreneurship training in the programme: time too limited to cover the core subjects; Form iv leavers and standard vii trainees have different understanding levels; financial/budgetary constraint; few inst.
Newton-type algorithms for dynamics-based robot movement optimization

This paper describes Newton and quasi-Newton optimization algorithms for dynamics-based robot movement generation. The robots that we consider are modeled as rigid multibody systems containing multiple closed loops, active and passive joints, and redundant actuators and sensors. While one can, in principle, always derive in analytic form the equations of motion for such systems, the ensuing complexity, both numeric and symbolic, of the equations makes classical optimization-based movement-generation schemes impractical for all but the simplest of systems. In particular, numerically approximating the gradient and Hessian often leads to ill-conditioning and poor convergence behavior. We show in this paper that, by extending (to the general class of systems described above) a Lie theoretic formulation of the equations of motion originally developed for serial chains, it is possible to recursively evaluate the dynamic equations, the analytic gradient, and even the Hessian for a number of physically plausible objective functions. We show through several case studies that, with exact gradient and Hessian information, descent-based optimization methods can be forged into an effective and reliable tool for generating physically natural robot movements.
A Survey of Visibility for Walkthrough Applications

Visibility algorithms for walkthrough and related applications have grown into a significant area, spurred by the growth in the complexity of models and the need for highly interactive ways of navigating them. In this survey, we review the fundamental issues in visibility and conduct an overview of the visibility culling techniques developed in the last decade. The taxonomy we use distinguishes point-based methods from-region methods. Point-based methods are further subdivided into object and image-precision techniques, while from-region approaches can take advantage of the cell-and-portal structure of architectural environments or handle generic scenes.
Five research-based heuristics for using video in pre-service teacher education

This article provides a research synthesis on the use of video in pre-service teacher education. Common ideas and evidences concerning the use of video in pre-service teacher education are reviewed. Based on the state-of-the-art in using video, fi ve research-based heuristics are derived. Research fi ndings of a number of studies are further used to illustrate the specifi cation of heuristics. Specifi cally, a set of rules of thumb about when, how, and why to use video is presented to clarify the strengths and limitations of video as a medium to support pre-service teacher learning.
The effect of instruction on knowledge and attitude of couples attending pre-marriage consultation classes

Background and Aim: Marriage and establishing a family is one of the most important events of everyone's life which has significant effects on personal and social health if it occurs appropriately and is intertwined with enough knowledge. To reach these positive effects, pre-marriage consultation is taken into consideration and it is accurately planned. Under such an instructional program, couples are familiarized with fertility health problems and this promotes their health level significantly. This study aimed at determining the effect of pre-marriage consultation classes. Materials and Methods: This pre-post quasi-experimental study was done on 250 couples attending premarriage instruction classes. Means for data collection was an autonomous questionnaire which had been designed according to the aims of the study and its reliability and validity had been confirmed. The questionnaire consisted of three sections; namely demographic questions, knowledge questions (27 cases), and attitude questions (18 cases). The questionnaire was filled out in two stages; i.e. before and after premarriage consultation program which was presented in lectures. Then, the effect of such an instruction was analyzed by means of statistical paired T-test, one-way variance analysis, and Chi-square. Results: Mean age of the couples under study was 22.4±4 years. According to the results of the study, 83.2% of the couples had weak knowledge, 16% average knowledge, and 0.8% had good knowledge before intervention. After instructional intervention the knowledge of 60.4% was weak, 31.6% had average knowledge and 8% benefited good knowledge; thus, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). Moreover, mean knowledge was 8.7±4.8 before intervention but it reached 12.4±5 after intervention (P<0.001). Mean attitude increased from 42.6±4.9 (before intervention) to 47.5±4.3 after invention; (P<0.001). The study also showed that the difference in mean knowledge and attitude before and after intervention regarding fertility, family planning, genetic diseases, and disabilities was statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: Although mean knowledge and attitude of the couples under study increased after instruction the increase was not so high in knowledge (only 4.3%) and after intervention only 8% of the couples gained acceptable knowledge. Thus, in order to develop a relatively stable behavior in young couples it is recommended that the quality of the instructional classes would be overemphasized.
Brain injury impairs ATP-sensitive K+ channel function in piglet cerebral arteries.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Traumatic injury is the leading cause of death for infants and children, and mortality is increased with head injury. Previous studies have shown that pial arteries constricted and that responses to several nitric oxide (NO)-dependent dilator stimuli were blunted after fluid percussion injury (FPI) in newborn pigs. Membrane potential of vascular muscle is a major determinant of vascular tone, and activity of K+ channels is a major regulator of membrane potential. Recent data show that the NO releasers sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) and 8-bromo-cGMP elicit dilation via ATP-sensitive K+ channel (KATP) activation. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of FPI on KATP channel function. METHODS Chloralose-anesthetized newborn pigs equipped with a closed cranial window were connected to a percussion device that consisted of a saline-filled cylindrical reservoir and a metal pendulum. Brain injury of moderate severity (1.9 to 2.1 atm) was produced by allowing the pendulum to strike a piston on the cylinder. Pial artery diameter was measured with a video microscaler. Data were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA. An alpha level of P < . 05 was considered significant. RESULTS FPI blunted dilation to cromakalim (10(-8), 10(-6) mol/L), a KATP agonist (10 +/- 1% and 27 +/- 2% versus 3 +/- 1% and 7 +/- 2% before and after FPI, respectively, n = 8). Similarly, FPI blunted dilation to calcitonin gene-related peptide, an endogenous KATP activator. FPI also blunted dilator responses to SNP, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, and 8-bromo-cGMP (10(-6) to 10(-8) mol/L) (10 +/- 1% and 20 +/- 1% versus 2 +/- 1% and 8 +/- 2% for SNP before and after FPI; 9 +/- 1% and 16 +/- 1% versus 2 +/- 1% and 4 +/- 1% for 8-bromo-cGMP before and after FPI, respectively, n = 8). In contrast, responses to papaverine and brain natriuretic peptide were unchanged after FPI. CONCLUSIONS These data show that KATP channel function is impaired after FPI. Furthermore, these data suggest that impaired function of mechanisms distal to NO synthase contribute to altered cerebral hemodynamics after FPI.
Genetic programming for the approximation of GPS GDOP

Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP) is an indicator showing how well the constellation of GPS satellites in the Global Positioning System (GPS) is organized geometrically. The calculation of GDOP is a time-and power-consuming task, where involves solving measurement equations with complicated matrix transformation and inversions. Previous studies have partially solved this problem with the techniques of numeric regression, This study employs genetic programming (GP) as a means for the approximation of GPS GDOP. Unlike previous approaches, GP considers not only the regression accuracy but also the the expressivity of the regression functions. With such regression functions, advanced studies for improving the GPS positioning accuracy can be conducted. The use of GP and associated experimental results are presented and discussed.
Tst-1, a member of the POU domain gene family, binds the promoter of the gene encoding the cell surface adhesion molecule P0

Tst-1, a member of the POU domain gene family, is expressed in specific neurons and in myelinating glia in the mammalian nervous system. Bacterially expressed Tst-1 binds specifically to the promoter of the gene encoding myelin protein P0, a Schwann cell surface adhesion molecule. In cotransfection assays, Tst-1 can specifically repress the P0 promoter. The N-terminal part of Tst-1 protein is highly glycine- and alanine-rich, a structural feature shared by the helix-loop-helix protein TFEB.