Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF INSTRUMENTS USED TO ASSESS ANXIETY IN OLDER ADULTS

With the growing number of older adults in the general population, there is also a concomitant rise in the number of older adults who require mental health services, making the measurement of psychological conditions in later life a priority. However, due to a lack of measures created for older adults, researchers and clinicians must often rely on measures created for younger populations. Three studies were designed to add to the field of evidence-based assessment and determine which anxiety measures possess strong evidence when used with older adults to warrant their use with this specific population. In the first study, I systematically reviewed the literature to identify the anxiety measures most commonly used with older adults. I reviewed each measure to examine its psychometric properties (e.g., internal consistency, test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, concurrent and discriminant validity) and the availability of ageappropriate norms in order to evaluate whether the instruments are appropriate for use with older adults. In the second study, I conducted a reliability generalization meta-analysis to estimate the mean reliability of each commonly used anxiety measure identified in the first study. Finally, in the third study, I examined whether the anxiety measures commonly used with an older population can be consistently and accurately categorized as evidence-based. The literature review and the reliability generalization study both revealed that most of the most commonly used measures lacked sufficient evidence to warrant their use with older adults. However, three measures (Beck Anxiety Inventory, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and Geriatric Mental Status Examination) showed psychometric properties sufficient to justify the use of these instruments when assessing anxiety in older adults. In addition, two measures developed specifically for older adults (Worry Scale and Geriatric Anxiety Inventory) were also found to be appropriate for use with older adults. This suggests that based on their overall level of reliability and previous
Hippocampal sclerosis—Origins and imaging

The association between hippocampal sclerosis (HS) and epilepsy has been known for almost two centuries. For many years, HS was studied in postmortem series; however, since the mid‐20th century, surgical specimens from temporal lobe resections have provided important new knowledge. HS is the most common pathology underlying drug‐resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE), a syndrome with a characteristic history and seizure semiology. In the early 1990s, it was recognized that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could detect HS. The standard MRI protocol for temporal lobe abnormalities uses coronal slices perpendicular to the long axis of the hippocampus. The MRI features of HS include reduced hippocampal volume, increased signal intensity on T2‐weighted imaging, and disturbed internal architecture. The histopathologic diagnosis of HS is usually straightforward, with neuronal loss and chronic fibrillary gliosis centered on the pyramidal cell layer. There are several patterns or subtypes of HS recognized from surgical series based on qualitative or quantified assessments of regional neuronal loss. The pathologic changes of HS include granule cell dispersion, mossy fiber sprouting, and alterations to interneurons. There may also be more extensive sclerosis of adjacent structures in the medial temporal lobe, including the amygdala and parahippocampal gyrus. Subtle cortical neuropathologies may accompany HS. The revised classification of dysplasias in epilepsy denotes these as focal cortical dysplasias type IIIa. Sometimes, HS occurs with a second lesion, either in the temporal lobe or extratemporal, most often ipsilateral to the HS. HS on preoperative MRI strongly predicts good seizure outcome following temporal lobe resection (TLR). If adequate MRI shows no structural correlate in patients with MTLE, functional imaging studies are valuable, especially if they are in agreement with ictal electroencephalography (EEG) findings. Focal hypometabolism on 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose–positron emission tomography (FDG‐PET) ipsilateral to the symptomatic temporal lobe predicts a good surgical outcome; the added value of 11C‐Flumazenil‐PET (FMZ‐PET) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is less clear. Surgical methods have evolved, particularly resecting less tissue, aiming to preserve function without compromising seizure outcome. Around two thirds of patients operated for MTLE with HS obtain seizure freedom. However, the best surgical approach to optimize seizure outcome remains controversial.
Effects of Apophenia on Multiple-Choice Exam Performance

There is a broad literature on the various issues related to effective exam construction applicable to both on-ground and online course delivery. These guidelines tend to support rather close contact between the instructor and the exam. However, to remain competitive, both textbook and course management providers have developed technologies to automate many aspects of exam construction. As test construction becomes automated, the possibility of inadvertently deviating from demonstrated or intuitive guidelines increases. Two experiments were conducted to examine the degree to which apophenia (perceiving patterns in random data) might negatively influence multiple-choice exam performance among college students. Experiment 1 indirectly demonstrated the extent to which certain answer patterns seemed to be tolerated among students (maximum of three repeated answers) in comparison with what might be expected from randomly generated exams from Blackboard. Experiment 2 directly examined the effects of answer patterns on exam performance. Participants’ performance declined as the underlying answer patterns became more obvious, and this effect appeared to be particularly strong for the upper level psychology students. The importance and implications of these findings with regard to automated test construction were discussed, and a recommendation is provided.
Serum separator tube method for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight analysis

Background Without appropriate treatment, bloodstream infections have a high mortality rate. Quicker identification of the microbial pathogen allows the clinician to develop an initial strategy of antimicrobial therapy. Sample preparation protocols for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF MS; Bruker Daltonics for Microflex LT spectrometer) technology were evaluated in an attempt to identify pathogens directly from positive blood culture bottles and thus shorten the time to identify them. This application requires preparatory processing because blood culture bottles contain undesirable proteins. This study aimed to evaluate two methods for microbial preparation for identification by MALDI-ToF MS. Methods This study evaluated two methods for microbial preparation from 200 positive blood culture samples, half prepared by the differential centrifugation method and half with the serum separator tube method for identification by MALDI-ToF MS. Both methods were compared to conventional methods such as VITEK II and ChromAgar culture plates. Results All Gram-negative bacteria tested were identified correctly by MALDI-ToF MS compared to conventional methods, regardless of the preparation method. However, more Gram-positive bacteria were identified when the serum separator tube method was used (83.3%) compared with the differential centrifugation method (65.3 %). Moreover, the serum separator tube protocol requires 12–15 min, while the differential centrifugation protocol requires 30–45 min. Conclusions Sample preparation using the serum separator tube method is easy to perform, fast and reliable for accurate microbial identification by MALDI-ToF MS technology.
Augmenting Bag-of-Words - Category Specific Features and Concept Reasoning

In this paper we present our approach to the 2010 ImageClef PhotoAnnotation task. Based on the well-known bag-of-words approach we suggest two extensions. First, we analyzed the impact of category specific features and classifiers. In order to classify quality-related image categories we implemented a sharpness measure and use this as additional feature in the classification process. Second, we propose a postclassification step, which is based on the observation that many of the categories should be considered as being related to each other: Some categories exclude or allow for inference to others. We incorporate inference and exclusion rules by refining the classification results. The results we obtain show that both extensions can provide a classification performance increase when compared the the standard BoW approach.
THE UNIVERSITY of BIRMINGHAM On-line Condition and Safety Monitoring of Pulverised Coal Mills Using a Model Based Pattern Recognition Technique

Around 40% of electricity in the UK is currently generated by coal-fired power stations. Coal-fired power stations nowadays are required to operate more flexibly with more varied coal specifications and regularly use coal with higher volatile contents and biomass materials; this can increase the risks of pressurisation or fires in milling plants. The power stations are also obliged to vary their outputs in response to the changes of electricity market prices, which results in more frequent mill start-ups and shutdowns. Frequent start-ups and shutdowns of mills will also have an impact on power plant operation safety. Although the increased risks are currently being mitigated by R&D work and the implementation of increased operational controls, in many cases, coal mills are shutdown and then restarted before they have cooled adequately, which creates a potential fire hazard within the mill. Mill fires could occur if the coal stops flowing in the mill and the static deposit is heated for a period of time. The UK PF Safety Forum had recently reported an increase in the frequency of mill incidents in the UK. However, it is difficult to identify if there will be a potential fire in the mill before it happens. Mill gas outlet temperature and CO measurement are established methods of detecting fires in mills, but at present they are not very effective for detecting small fires. The CO detection system becomes ineffective when the mill is in service due to dilution effects caused by primary air flow and associated oxygen content in the mill. Advanced distributed control and monitoring systems have been installed at almost all coal-fired power plants, which enable power plant operators to collect data from the major plant components, e.g. mills, boilers, turbines and generators. Therefore, the project is to develop a software package for condition monitoring and fire prediction through on-line implementation of a coal mill model using evolutionary computation and pattern recognition techniques. The aim of the project is to develop a software package for on-line mill condition and safety monitoring with particular emphasis on the following objectives: • to improve the multi-segment mill mathematical model using evolutionary computation techniques based on the on-site measurement data and to extend the current model from E-Type vertical spindle mills to other types of coal mills such as tube-ball mills and etc; • to identify coal quality variations through recognising the variation patterns of mill model parameters and …
Exploring Expatriate Adjustment from Expatriate's Intelligence and Family Adaptability: A Meta-Analytic Approach

As the globalization of business activities become more and more prevalent, a lot of expatriates have to be dispatched to the overseas market places. Previous studies have found that expatriate failure is a serious issue which not only could incur the loss of company sales and profits, but also may result in expatriate loss of confidence, self-esteem, and reputation. A lot of studies have focused on the adjustment of expatriate. This study extends the adjustment issues by integrating expatriate intelligence and family adaptability to develop a more comprehensive framework. Ten research hypotheses were developed and validated through a Meta-analysis by collecting 341 studies of previous literature during 1988-2013. The results indicate that, expatriates emotional and cultural intelligence can motivate their adaptation to new culture surrounding with better human relations. Expatriates who get better support from their family and parents with lower work-family conflict will inhibit stress and promote the capability for better adjustment. Finally, expatriates with better social capital will enhance them to adjust in the new environment because of social support, organizational support and affective commitment.
Learning Exemplar-Based Categorization for the Detection of Multi-View Multi-Pose Objects

This paper proposes a novel approach for multi-view multi-pose object detection using discriminative shapebased exemplars. The key idea underlying this method is motivated by numerous previous observations that manually clustering multi-view multi-pose training data into different categories and then combining the separately trained two-class classifiers greatly improved the detection performance. A novel computational framework is proposed to unify different processes of categorization, training individual classifier for each intra-class category, and training a strong classifier combining the individual classifiers. The individual processes employ a single objective function that is optimized using two nested AdaBoost loops. The outer AdaBoost loop is used to select discriminative exemplars and the inner AdaBoost is used to select discriminative features on the selected exemplars. The proposed approach replaces the manual time-consuming process of exemplar selection as well as addresses the problem of labeling ambiguity inherent in this process. Also, our approach fully complies with the standard AdaBoost-based object detection framework in terms of real-time implementation. Experiments on multi-view multi-pose people and vehicle data demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach.
Viruses may trigger allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome

Sir, A relationship between allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome (AHS) and viral infections, especially with human herpes virus (HHV)-6, has been suspected since the first report of AHS in 1970 [1]. Although participation of other opportunistic viral infections has also been reported, the mechanisms by which any of these contribute to AHS are still unknown. We report a case of a 39-year-old woman receiving peritoneal dialysis due to lupus nephritis who developed severe AHS, which may have resulted from influenza virus infection. She experienced a systemic skin rash with high fever just after administration of allopurinol. Both hypereosinophilia and high titre influenza virus type A-specific antibody were present before admission and at hospital day 6. Because antibody titres for HHV-6 IgG, Epstein-Barr virus, measles and rubella were positive but within the normal range, we suspected that the AHS may have been induced by influenza virus infection. Her symptoms diminished following withdrawal of allopurinol and administration of predonisolone. Current hypotheses for mechanisms of the AHS onset include two pathways Fig. ​Fig.1. 1. First, storage of allopurinol and its metabolite, oxypurinol, may directly inflict cell damage, especially in patients with renal dysfunction. A second possible pathway suggests that a type III allergic reaction caused by allopurinol may induce the re-activation of HHV-6, or activation of other opportunistic viruses, such as cytomegalovirus [2] and Epstein-Barr virus [3], through the activation of T-lymphocytes. Recently, CD46 was identified as a receptor for HHV-6, and it was therefore suggested that this reactivated virus damages cells, including epidermal cells and lymphocytes, via CD46 binding [4]. In the present case, the influenza virus titre was elevated in parallel with the clinical symptoms of AHS, and it is possible that this virus exacerbated the cascade reaction in the same way as do other viruses. We suggest that such community-acquired bacterial and viral infections may also accelerate these cascade reactions and that genetic factors may interact with these events. Fig. 1 Possible mechanism for the onset of allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome. In addition to established pathways (direct cellular injury and inactivation of viruses), community infection may accelerate the cascade. Conflict of interest statement. None declared.
Partner Selection in Domestic Co-Opetition: The Effect of Personal Ties - An Exploratory Analysis on Factors Leading to the Choice of Partners in Co-Opetition.

Co-opetition partnerships refer to developing cooperation efforts between competitors. The scarcity of studies conducted in this field to date provides limited contribution for the understanding of the partner selection process in this particularly paradoxical concept. This research aims to contribute towards a better understanding of the partner selection process which anticipates a successful co-opetition partnership. It follows a methodology based on systematic combining for the qualitative analysis of four cases of domestic co-opetition in Portugal. After data was collected, coded and analysed, results suggest that prior personal relationships between decision makers are facilitators for the implementation of cooperation partnerships with competitors. Based on these findings, this research proposes a model to explain the process of partner selection for co-opetition partnerships. According to this model, the decision for the creation of a partnership arises from the decision-maker's network of contacts, who afterwards will, inside the network, judiciously refine the selection of partners based on specific characteristics. These results highlight the relevance of business networks for the development of co-opetition partnerships.
Emotional Intelligence, Hardiness, and Smoking: Protective Factors Among Adolescents

ABSTRACT Smoking is the biggest threat to public health, and it remains a serious cause of death in the world. It even causes acute and chronic diseases in passive smokers. Remarkably, the age of the onset of cigarette smoking is decreasing. Therefore, it is essential to increase our knowledge concerning the attitudes among adolescents toward cigarette smoking. The present study sought to examine the association among hardiness, emotional intelligence, and attitude toward cigarette smoking in adolescents. The participants comprised of 550 high school students (ages 16 to 19 years, M = 17.1, SD = .93) from Tehran. They completed the Personal Views Survey, Assessing Emotions Scale, and Attitudes Towards Smoking Scale. The structural equation modeling estimated that adolescents with a high ability for hardiness and emotional intelligence were more likely to report negative attitude toward cigarette smoking. The findings showed that hardiness and emotional intelligence were protective factors against smoking in adolescents. Therefore, these findings reinforce the importance of hardiness training and emotional intelligence training in preventing cigarette smoking in adolescents.
Immigration Restrictions and Labor Market Skills Preliminary and Incomplete

Dierences in income levels across countries are generally attibuted to dierences in productivity. In studies of internal migration (e.g. within the U.S.), it is commonly observed that skilled workers move much more than unskilled workers. The paper analyzes the implications of such dierential migration, using a model in which eciency dierences are labor-augmenting, and free trade in product markets leads to factor price equalization, so that wages are equal across countries when measured in eciency units. Relaxation of immigration restrictions in
Charmonium suppression from shadowing effects

The extend to which geometrical effects contribute to the production and suppression of the $J/\psi$ and $q\bar{q}$ minijet pairs in general is investigated for high energy heavy ion collisions at SPS, RHIC and LHC energies. For the energy range under investigation, the geometrical effects referred to are shadowing and anti-shadowing, respectively. Due to those effects, the parton distributions in nuclei deviate from the naive extrapolation from the free nucleon result; $f_{A}\neq A f_{N}$. The strength of the shadowing/anti-shadowing effect increases with the mass number. The consequences of gluonic shadowing effects for the $x_F$ distribution of $J/\psi$'s at $\sqrt s =20$ GeV, $\sqrt s =200$ GeV and $\sqrt s =6$ TeV are calculated for some relevant combinations of nuclei, as well as the $p_T$ distribution of minijets at midrapidity for $N_f=4$ in the final state.
A Defense of the Rights of Artificial Intelligences

There are possible artificially intelligent beings who do not differ in any morally relevant respect from human beings. Such possible beings would deserve moral consideration similar to that of human beings. Our duties to them would not be appreciably reduced by the fact that they are non-human, nor by the fact that they owe their existence to us. Indeed, if they owe their existence to us, we would likely have additional moral obligations to them that we don’t ordinarily owe to human strangers – obligations similar to those of parent to child or god to creature. Given our moral obligations to such AIs, two principles for ethical AI design recommend themselves: (1) design AIs that tend to provoke reactions from users that accurately reflect the AIs’ real moral status, and (2) avoid designing AIs whose moral status is unclear. Since human moral intuition and moral theory evolved and developed in contexts without AI, those intuitions and theories might break down or become destabilized when confronted with the wide range of weird minds that AI design might make possible. Word count: approx 10,000 (including notes and references), plus one figure