Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Familiarity and Scene Processing Visual Scene Processing in Familiar and Unfamiliar Environments Familiarity and Scene Processing Familiarity and Scene Processing

Humans and animals use information obtained from the local visual scene to orient themselves in the wider world. Although neural systems involved in scene perception have been identified, the extent to which processing in these systems is affected by previous experience is unclear. We addressed this issue by scanning subjects with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they viewed photographs of familiar and unfamiliar locations. Scene-selective regions in parahippocampal cortex (the parahippocampal place area, or PPA), retrosplenial cortex (RSC), and the transverse occipital sulcus (TOS) responded more strongly to images of familiar locations than to images of unfamiliar locations, with the strongest effects (>50% increase) in RSC. Examination of fMRI repetition suppression (RS) effects indicated that images of familiar and unfamiliar locations were processed with the same degree of viewpoint-specificity; however, increased viewpoint-invariance was observed as individual scenes became more familiar over the course of a scan session. Surprisingly, these within-scan-session viewpoint-invariant RS effects were only observed when scenes were repeated across different trials but not when scenes were repeated within a trial, suggesting that within-trial and between-trial RS effects may index different aspects of visual scene processing. The sensitivity to environmental familiarity observed in the PPA, RSC and TOS supports earlier claims that these regions mediate the extraction of navigationally-relevant spatial information from visual scenes. As locations become familiar, the neural representations of these locations become enriched, but the viewpoint invariance of these representations does not change. Page 2 of 47
DNA Barcoding and Species Boundary Delimitation of Selected Species of Chinese Acridoidea (Orthoptera: Caelifera)

We tested the performance of DNA barcoding in Acridoidea and attempted to solve species boundary delimitation problems in selected groups using COI barcodes. Three analysis methods were applied to reconstruct the phylogeny. K2P distances were used to assess the overlap range between intraspecific variation and interspecific divergence. “Best match (BM)”, “best close match (BCM)”, “all species barcodes (ASB)” and “back-propagation neural networks (BP-based method)” were utilized to test the success rate of species identification. Phylogenetic species concept and network analysis were employed to delimitate the species boundary in eight selected species groups. The results demonstrated that the COI barcode region performed better in phylogenetic reconstruction at genus and species levels than at higher-levels, but showed a little improvement in resolving the higher-level relationships when the third base data or both first and third base data were excluded. Most overlaps and incorrect identifications may be due to imperfect taxonomy, indicating the critical role of taxonomic revision in DNA barcoding study. Species boundary delimitation confirmed the presence of oversplitting in six species groups and suggested that each group should be treated as a single species.
An active strategy to identify individuals eligible for type 2 diabetes prevention by lifestyle intervention in Dutch primary care: the APHRODITE study.

BACKGROUND Several trials have shown the potential of lifestyle intervention programmes for prevention of type 2 diabetes. The effectiveness of implementation of these programmes into daily practice is now being studied in several countries. The 'Active Prevention in High Risk individuals of Diabetes Type 2 in Eindhoven' (APHRODITE) study investigates whether type 2 diabetes prevention by lifestyle intervention is effective in Dutch primary care. In this article we describe the process of recruiting the study participants. OBJECTIVE To assess the reach of an active strategy to recruit participants for a programme on type 2 diabetes prevention by lifestyle intervention in Dutch primary care. METHODS A diabetes risk questionnaire was sent to general practice patients aged 40-70 years. Individuals with a risk score above threshold were invited for an admission interview with the GP and an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). All individuals with non-diabetic glucose levels were asked to participate in the intervention study. RESULTS In total, 8752 (54.6%) of the individuals returned the questionnaire in time. Of all high-risk individuals (n = 1533), 73.1% contacted their practice to schedule a consultation with the GP. Response rates varied significantly among practices. CONCLUSIONS Using invitational letters, a substantial amount of individuals could be motivated to participate in a programme on type 2 diabetes prevention by lifestyle intervention in Dutch primary care. Further research is needed on what kind of strategy would be most effective and efficient to screen for individuals at high risk for type 2 diabetes in primary care.
THE X-RAY SPECTRA OF THE LUMINOUS LMXBs IN NGC 3379: FIELD AND GLOBULAR CLUSTER SOURCES

From a deep multi-epoch Chandra observation of the elliptical galaxy NGC 3379 we report the spectral properties of eight luminous LMXBs (LX >1.2 × 1038 erg s−1). We also present a set of spectral simulations, produced to aid the interpretation of low-count single-component spectral modeling. These simulations demonstrate that it is possible to infer the spectral states of X-ray binaries from these simple models and thereby constrain the properties of the source. Of the eight LMXBs studied, three reside within globular clusters (GCs) and one is a confirmed field source. Due to the nature of the luminosity cut, all sources are either neutron star (NS) binaries emitting at or above the Eddington luminosity or black hole (BH) binaries. The spectra from these sources are well described by single-component models, with parameters consistent with Galactic LMXB observations, where hard-state sources have a range in photon index of 1.5–1.9 and thermally dominant (TD) sources have inner-disk temperatures between ∼0.7and1.55 keV. The large variability observed in the brightest GC source (LX >4 × 1038 erg s−1) suggests the presence of a BH binary. At its most luminous this source is observed in a TD state with kTin = 1.5 keV, consistent with a BH mass of ∼4 M☉. This observation provides further evidence that GCs are able to retain such massive binaries. We also observed a source transitioning from a bright state (LX ∼1 × 1039 erg s−1), with prominent thermal and non-thermal components, to a less luminous hard state (LX = 3.8 × 1038 erg s−1, Γ= 1.85). In its high flux emission, this source exhibits a cool-disk component of ∼0.14 keV, similar to spectra observed in some ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs). Such a similarity indicates a possible link between “normal” stellar-mass BHs in a high accretion state and ULXs.
Action Recognition in Videos: from Motion Capture Labs to the Web

This paper presents a survey of human action recognition approaches based on visual data recorded from a single video camera. We propose an organizing framework which puts in evidence the evolution of the area, with techniques moving from heavily constrained motion capture scenarios towards more challenging, realistic, “in the wild” videos. The proposed organization is based on the representation used as input for the recognition task, emphasizing the hypothesis assumed and thus, the constraints imposed on the type of video that each technique is able to address. Expliciting the hypothesis and constraints makes the framework particularly useful to select a method, given an application. Another advantage of the proposed organization is that it allows categorizing newest approaches seamlessly with traditional ones, while providing an insightful perspective of the evolution of the action recognition task up to now. That perspective is the basis for the discussion in the end of the paper, where we also present the main open issues in the area.
HOT DEBRIS DUST AROUND HD 106797

Photometry of the A0 V main-sequence star HD 106797 with AKARI and Gemini/T-ReCS is used to detect excess emission over the expected stellar photospheric emission between 10 and 20 μm, which is best attributed to hot circumstellar debris dust surrounding the star. The temperature of the debris dust is derived as Td ∼ 190 K by assuming that the excess emission is approximated by a single temperature blackbody. The derived temperature suggests that the inner radius of the debris disk is ∼14 AU. The fractional luminosity of the debris disk is 1000 times brighter than that of our own zodiacal cloud. The existence of such a large amount of hot dust around HD 106797 cannot be accounted for by a simple model of the steady state evolution of a debris disk due to collisions, and it is likely that transient events play a significant role. Our data also show a narrow spectral feature between 11 and 12 μm attributable to crystalline silicates, suggesting that dust heating has occurred during the formation and evolution of the debris disk of HD 106797.
Multi-feature Based Object Class Recognition

In object class recognition, lots of past researches focused on the local descriptors such as SIFT to categorize the variation of objects belonging to the same category in different poses, sizes, and appearance. However, SIFT descriptors may produce poor result especially if the object does not have enough information of its texture features. Due to this problem, we hypothesize that the use multi feature may increase the performance of object class recognition. In this paper, we use additional global shape features, Fourier Descriptors combined with SIFT descriptors to help in improving the performance of object class recognition. The selection of shape features is chosen due to the objects are easier to describe based on this features from human perspective compare to other features. We have divided our experiments into two: Experiment E1 is limited to the side view of bike, car, horse, and cow images whereas Experiment E2 consists of similar categories of dataset but in arbitrary views, rotations, and scales. The dataset we used in our experimentation are obtained from PASCAL, Weizmann and TU Darmstadt database. We assume that all objects are segmented manually before the feature extraction process. We validate our selection features using K-Means algorithm to evaluate the features for the purpose of object class recognition. Our results indicate that the combination of additional shape features together with SIFT descriptors performs better than using SIFT descriptors alone by up to 15% with limitation views of images.
Correcting Biases in Standard Gamble and Time Tradeoff Utilities

The standard gamble (SG) method and the time tradeoff (TTO) method are commonly used tomeasure utilities. However, they are distorted by biases due to loss aversion, scale compatibility, utility curvature for life duration, and probability weighting. This article applies corrections for these biases and provides new data on these biases and their corrections. The SG and TTO utilities of 6 rheumatoid arthritis health states were assessed for 45 healthy respondents. Various corrections of utilities were considered. The uncorrected TTO scores and the corrected (for utility curvature) TTO scores provided similar results. This article provides arguments suggesting that the TTO scores are biased upward rather than having balanced biases. The only downward bias in TTO scores was small and probably cannot offset the upward biases. TheTTOscores are higher than the theoretically most preferred correction of the SG, the mixed correction. These findings suggest that uncorrected SG scores, which are higher than TTO scores, are too high.
Using BD Vacutainer CD4 Stabilization Tubes for Absolute Cluster of Differentiation Type 4 Cell Count Measurement on BD FacsCount and Partec Cyflow Cytometers: A Method Comparison Study from Zimbabwe

Background Blood collected in conventional EDTA tubes requires laboratory analysis within 48 hours to provide valid CD4 cell count results. This restricts access to HIV care for patients from rural areas in resource-constraint settings due to sample transportation problems. Stabilization Tubes with extended storage duration have been developed but not yet evaluated comprehensively. Objective To investigate stability of absolute CD4 cell count measurement of samples in BD Vacutainer CD4 Stabilization Tubes over the course of 30 days. Methods This was a laboratory-based method comparison study conducted at a rural district hospital in Beitbridge, Zimbabwe. Whole peripheral blood from 88 HIV positive adults was drawn into BD Vacutainer CD4 Stabilization Tubes and re-tested 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 30 days after collection on BD FacsCount and Partec Cyflow cytometers in parallel. Absolute CD4 cell levels were compared to results from paired samples in EDTA tubes analysed on BD FacsCount at the day of sample collection (references methodology). Bland-Altman analysis based on ratios of the median CD4 counts was used, with acceptable variation ranges for Limits of Agreements of +/-20%. Results Differences in ratios of the medians remained below 10% until day 21 on BD FacsCount and until day 5 on Partec Cyflow. Variations of Limits of Agreement were beyond 20% after day 1 on both cytometers. Specimen quality decreased steadily after day 5, with only 68% and 40% of samples yielding results on BD FacsCount and Partec Cyflow at day 21, respectively. Conclusions We do not recommend the use of BD Vacutainer CD4 Stabilization Tubes for absolute CD4 cell count measurement on BD FacsCount or Partec Cyflow due to large variation of results and decay of specimen quality. Alternative technologies for enhanced CD4 testing in settings with limited laboratory and sample transportation capacity still need to be developed.
Adaptation and Validation of the Home and School Forms of the Sensory Processing Measure-Preschool (SPM-P) for Use in Ethiopia

Despite the encouraging trend in public awareness of the need for psychological support, there are indications that psychologists in Ethiopia face a widerange of challenges to keep up with the growing demand. One gap concerns the availability of measures. As part of the needed effort to bridge this gap, the present study attempts to adapt and validate an existing measure, the Sensory Processing Measure Preschool (SPMP), for use in the Ethiopian context. The study selected 676 participants who were typically developing children and 29 children with special needs aged between two and five years and selected from kindergartens in Addis Ababa. The SPM-P is a rating scale with home and school forms, each containing 75 items which are completed by the parent/caregiver and teacher/day-care provider respectively. Stratified random sampling and availability sampling techniques were employed to select the typicallydeveloping group and children with special needs, respectively. The results indicated good reliability coefficients for both forms (Home form, .93 and School form, .92) of the SPMP Amharic Version (SPMP-AV) and for the subscales (ranging from .60 to .90). Besides, SPMP-AV significantly discriminated between typically-developing children and children with special needs (p< .001), indicating the scale’s discriminant validity. The scale’s convergent validity was further established. Overall, SPMP-AV demonstrated good psychometric characteristics; with careful use, it can play a significant role in the development of evidence-based practices to address sensory processing disorders in Ethiopia.
The future of the welfare state

This book uses data from 21 OECD countries for the period 1980 to 1998 to test a variety of hypotheses suggesting that contemporary welfare states are in crisis and to establish the factors shaping the trajectory of welfare state development during these years. It assesses the validity of arguments that globalization leads to a ‘race to the bottom’ in social spending and that population ageing poses a threat to public budgets. It finds both of these arguments wanting and, instead, suggests that contemporary welfare states have been converging to a steady state over recent decades. The book also examines the extent to which welfare states across the OECD have been restructured in recent years and whether there are signs of the emergence of a distinctive European ‘social model’. Again, it finds that accounts of substantial welfare state restructuring and of the Europeanization of the welfare state are much exaggerated. Finally, the book identifies a potential threat to the viability of existing societies in a trend to declining fertility throughout the advanced world, but argues that the welfare state in the form of familyfriendly policy is actually our best protection against this trend.
Multi-view video super-resolution for hybrid cameras using modified NLM and adaptive thresholding

Dual-mode (hybrid) cameras are able to simultaneously shoot two types of video streams: a high resolution with low frame rate stream and similarly a low resolution with high frame rate stream. There are some works on super-resolving the single camera video sequences. In this paper we propose a method for multi-view video super-resolution, utilizing sequences generated from a hybrid camera. In the proposed method we exploit the self-similarity in the spatial and temporal domains to reconstruct a pixel. We modify the nonlocal means method to be applied in our method. Through a combination of techniques including adaptive thresholds and specialized candidate pixel selection schemes, the proposed method reconstructs a high fidelity video stream with considerably improved performance.
Empirical verification of self-rated positive health (somatic dimension) in women with professional competence in the field of health education

Purpose: to address a question whether reports of young women concerning their positive health are concordant with indices based on recommended methods of measuring health? Material: the study consist of fifteen, 23 years old female students of physiotherapy (height: QUOTE 15X"> =164.3 ±4.55; weight: QUOTE 15X"> = 60.7 ±6.76) who declared engagement in everyday or occasional physical activity. They completed The profile of the sense of positive health and survival abilities indices (SPHSA questionnaire). It includes 23 indices: 8 of somatic health (A), 4 of mental health (B), 3 of social health (C) and 8 of survival ability (D). The sense of intensity of particular indices (aspects A, B, C) is evaluated in the 1 to 5 scale where: 1 very low, 2 low, 3 average, 4 high, 5 very high. Additional index “0” (added to this five-point rating scale) is reserved to aspect D. Besides, SPHSA comprise 8 questions relating to subject’s earlier experiences associated with: safe falling, self-defence, martial arts, life-saving skills in the water, first aid, survival, uniformed services and scouting. Results: there is statistically significant correlation (r = 0.57; p<0.05) between reported and diagnosed average value of general index of somatic health of young women. Reported and diagnosed values of general index of somatic health are concordant in 5 women (33% of study group). The remaining 10 women either overestimate (n = 7) or underestimate (n = 3) their somatic health. Regardless of declared physical activity women significantly overestimated their diastolic blood pressure and underestimate their anaerobic capacity and flexibility: p<0.05 or p<0.01 (these misestimations, concerns indices having extreme values, both highest and lowest). Tendency is more evident in case of everyday active women. Conclusions: results of the experiment allow recommendation SPHSA as a useful tool to measure people’s sense of somatic health. Concurrently person’s self-evaluations can be easily verified because they concern such characteristics of the body which can be measured by quasi-objective methods (criterion validity).
Stigma Impact on Moroccan Families of Patients with Schizophrenia

Objectives: First, to explore whether in Morocco, a non-Western country, family members of patients with schizophrenia suffer from stigma and, if they do, which areas of their lives are most affected; and second, to explore family members' knowledge about the illness and their attitudes toward the patients. Methods: The study was conducted among 100 family members accompanying patients with schizophrenia. We used a heteroquestionnaire that inquired about family members' and patients' sociodemographic data, family members' knowledge of the patients' illness, their attitudes and behaviours toward the patient, and their perception of stigma. Results: Family members' mean age was 47.44 years, SD 12.83; 69% were women; 38% had no education; and 77% had no professional activity. Most families (76%) reported having no knowledge about the illness. However, the illness was considered to be incurable (39%), severe (37%), chronic (80%), and handicapping (48%) and was believed to be caused by drug use (25%), stressing life events (such as conflict or bereavement; 46%), sorcery (25%), organic disturbance (30%), or heredity (23%). We found that most of the families suffer from stigma and discrimination. A total of 86.7% reported they have hard lives because of the illness, and 72% reported psychological suffering caused by sleep and relationship disturbances and a poor quality of life. Conclusions: In this study, we found that Moroccan families of patients with schizophrenia suffer from stigma. We found the same results in European, In North American, and in some Arab and Islam countries. Despite the belief that traditional societies are more supportive of the weak and the sick, stigma is a major burden in addition to that of the illness.
Are you ready? I can tell by looking at your microsaccades

The direction of microsaccades has been shown to be biased by the allocation of spatial attention. Here, we investigated whether the cognitive processes involved in preparing to respond to an upcoming target can modulate the microsaccadic response. Specifically, we found that optimal manual response preparation, reflected by faster response times, was associated with a reduction in the absolute frequency of microsaccades. The present results are consistent with previous studies suggesting a relationship between oculomotor activity and different sorts of motor responses. Our findings, however, surprisingly demonstrate that the effect of preparation and stimulus expectation extends to an automatic and unconscious oculomotor activity such as microsaccade execution.
Fascist Pigs. Technoscientific Organisms and the History of Fascism

discover different modes of being, entitlement and enmeshment. They aimed to do so with a critical eye on their own culture, where invariably generalized domestication dominated’ (p. 117). In other words, Hage rephrases Marshall Sahlins’ ‘mutualist mode of existence’ in which ‘boundaries between self and other, human and animal, and so on, are far less absolute and even nonexistent, and where we experience an interpenetration between self and other’ (p. 119) that we may move forward. Additionally, the terms such as Muslims and Arabs are often used interchangeably in Hage’s account, a move which is understandable, given the short format, but still it is slightly reductionist; not all Arabs are Muslims and not all Arabs are always and inevitably racialized as Muslims. In spite of these minor reservations, Hage has written a monograph that is excellent for thinking with and against.