Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linear representations of probabilistic transformations induced by context transitions

By using straightforward frequency arguments we classify transformations of probabilities which can be generated by transition from one preparation procedure (context) to another. There are three classes of transformations corresponding to statistical deviations of different magnitudes: (a) trigonometric; (b) hyperbolic; (c) hyper-trigonometric. It is shown that not only quantum preparation procedures can have trigonometric probabilistic behaviour. We propose generalizations of C-linear space probabilistic calculus to describe non-quantum (trigonometric and hyperbolic) probabilistic transformations. We also analyse the superposition principle in this framework.
Content Analysis of Multiple Messages in Suicide Notes*

ABSTRACT: Two hundred twenty individuals who committed suicide and who left notes, when compared with 813 non‐note writers, were significantly more likely to be white, female, and, if female, to have any other marital status than “widowed. ” With respect to method, the results indicated that note writers were more apt to have committed suiced with “Drugs” and less apt to have used “Other” methods. The question is raised as to whether or not note writers can be accepted as representative of the whole group of those who commit suicide. In 195 suicide notes for which content was available for analysis, the relative percentages of statements containing advice, instructions, and requests (31), other‐directed positive affect (19), acknowledgment of wrongdoing (7), and hostile affect (5) were the same in the entire sample as in subsamples of age, sex, and marital status. Only for a few specific content categories did the relative frequency of content vary significantly with age, sex, or marital status. Advantages of the present method of content analysis are discussed, and suggestions for further research in this area are offered.
Quality of Life and Neurocognitive Functioning in Children with Sickle Cell Disease: Investigating the Feasibility of a Computerized Cognitive Training Program

Quality of Life and Neurocognitive Functioning in Children with Sickle Cell Disease: Investigating the Feasibility of a Computerized Cognitive Training Program by Taryn Margaret Allen Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Melanie J. Bonner, Supervisor ___________________________ John Curry ___________________________ David Rabiner ___________________________ Jennifer Rothman An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience in the Graduate School of Duke University
Neighbourhood social and socio‐economic composition andinjury risks

Aim: To investigate whether social and socio‐economic characteristics of the population within a parish influence childhood injury. Methods: The study encompasses all children aged 0–15 y living in Stockholm County over the 3‐y period 1999–2001 (about 360 000 children per year), grouped into parish of residence (138 parishes). The effect of parish attributes on injury rate were analysed based on three indices (deprivation, socio‐economic status and social integration) derived by a factor analysis of 11 characteristics of the parishes' population, each index being split into three levels. Childhood injury resulting in at least one night of hospitalization during the period 1999–2001 was considered (n=5540) by index, and rate ratios were calculated for 12 injury causes using parishes forming the best level of the index as the reference group. Results: Higher levels of deprivation negatively influenced pedestrian injury rates, had a protective effect on other traffic‐related injuries, and negatively affected some other types of unintentional injuries. Higher concentrations of people with low socio‐economic status did not impact on the risk of traffic and fall injuries, but increased that of burns/scalds and cases of poisoning. Parishes with lower levels of social integration had significantly higher rates of bicycle‐ and moped‐related injuries, and also of self‐inflicted ones.
Human Powered Piezoelectric Batteries to Supply Power to Wearable Electronic Devices

Consumer electronic equipments are becoming small, portable devices that provide users with a wide range of functionality, from communication to music playing. The battery technology and the power consumption of the device limit the size, weight and autonomous lifetime. One promising alternative to batteries (and fuel cells, that must be refueled as well) is to use the parasitic energy dissipated in the movement of the wearer of the device to power it. We analyze in this work the current state-of-the-art and the future prospect of energy conversion from mechanical movement in the human environment to electrical energy based upon the piezoelectric effect. This is an interdisciplinary field where material technology and electrical circuits have to advance together to improve the conversion efficiency in order to reach the energy demands of the typical portable consumer electronic devices that will become in this way autonomous wearable devices.
Two cases of petrosquamosal sinus in the temporal bone presented as perioperative finding

The petrosquamosal (PSS) is an embryonic emissary vein of the temporal bone in humans and connects the intra‐ and extracranial venous networks. Few reports in the recent literature provide detailed descriptions of PSSs that are found before or during surgeries. We report the presence of PSS in two patients with chronic otitis media. An abnormal vessel was found originating from the sigmoid sinus of each patient. The vessels coursed anteroinferiorly over the superior portion of the temporal bone and terminated near the posterior part of the temporomandibular joint. The clinical significance of PSS and a brief literature review are presented.
Automatically generating complex test cases from simple ones

While source code expresses and implements design considerations for software system, test cases capture and represent the domain knowledge of software developer, her assumptions on the implicit and explicit interaction protocols in the system, and the expected behavior of different modules of the system in normal and exceptional conditions. Moreover, test cases capture information about the environment and the data the system operates on. As such, together with the system source code, test cases integrate important system and domain knowledge. Besides being an important project artifact, test cases embody up to the half the overall software development cost and effort. Software projects produce many test cases of different kind and granularity to thoroughly check the system functionality, aiming to prevent, detect, and remove different types of faults. Simple test cases exercise small parts of the system aiming to detect faults in single modules. More complex integration and system test cases exercise larger parts of the system aiming to detect problems in module interactions and verify the functionality of the system as a whole. Not surprisingly, the test case complexity comes at a cost – developing complex test cases is a laborious and expensive task that is hard to automate. Our intuition is that important information that is naturally present in test cases can be reused to reduce the effort in generation of new test cases. This thesis develops this intuition and investigates the phenomenon of information reuse among test cases. We first empirically investigated many test cases from real software projects and demonstrated that test cases of different granularity indeed share code fragments and build upon each other. Then we proposed an approach for automatically generating complex test cases by extracting and exploiting information in existing simple ones. In particular, our approach automatically generates integration test cases from unit ones. We implemented our approach in a prototype to evaluate its ability to generate new and useful test cases for real software systems. Our studies show that test cases generated with our approach reveal new interaction faults even in well tested applications. We evaluated the effectiveness of our approach by comparing it with the state of the art test generation techniques. The evaluation results show that our approach is effective, it finds relevant faults differently from other approaches that tend to find different and usually less relevant faults.
Comparative genomics of Lactobacillus

The genus Lactobacillus includes a diverse group of bacteria consisting of many species that are associated with fermentations of plants, meat or milk. In addition, various lactobacilli are natural inhabitants of the intestinal tract of humans and other animals. Finally, several Lactobacillus strains are marketed as probiotics as their consumption can confer a health benefit to host. Presently, 154 Lactobacillus species are known and a growing fraction of these are subject to draft genome sequencing. However, complete genome sequences are needed to provide a platform for detailed genomic comparisons. Therefore, we selected a total of 20 genomes of various Lactobacillus strains for which complete genomic sequences have been reported. These genomes had sizes varying from 1.8 to 3.3 Mb and other characteristic features, such as G+C content that ranged from 33% to 51%. The Lactobacillus pan genome was found to consist of approximately 14 000 protein‐encoding genes while all 20 genomes shared a total of 383 sets of orthologous genes that defined the Lactobacillus core genome (LCG). Based on advanced phylogeny of the proteins encoded by this LCG, we grouped the 20 strains into three main groups and defined core group genes present in all genomes of a single group, signature group genes shared in all genomes of one group but absent in all other Lactobacillus genomes, and Group‐specific ORFans present in core group genes of one group and absent in all other complete genomes. The latter are of specific value in defining the different groups of genomes. The study provides a platform for present individual comparisons as well as future analysis of new Lactobacillus genomes.
Matching points with geometric objects : Combinatorial results

Given a class C of geometric objects and a point set P , a Cmatching of P is a set M = {C1, . , Ck} of elements of C such that every Ci contains exactly two elements of P . If all the elements of P belong to some Ci, M is called a perfect matching ; if in addition all the elements of M are pairwise disjoint we say that this matching M is strong. In this paper we study the existence and characteristics of C-matchings for point sets on the plane when C is the set of circles or the set of isothetic squares on the plane.
Perceptions of oral health, preventive care, and care-seeking behaviors among rural adolescents.

BACKGROUND An asymmetrical oral disease burden is endured by certain population subgroups, particularly children and adolescents. Reducing oral health disparities requires understanding multiple oral health perspectives, including those of adolescents. This qualitative study explores oral health perceptions and dental care behaviors among rural adolescents. METHODS Semistructured individual interviews with 100 rural, minority, low socioeconomic status adolescents revealed their current perceptions of oral health and dental care access. Respondents age ranged from 12 to 18 years. The sample was 80% black and 52% male. RESULTS Perceived threat from dental disease was low. Adolescents perceived regular brushing and flossing as superseding the need for preventive care. Esthetic reasons were most often cited as reasons to seek dental care. Difficulties accessing dental care include finances, transportation, fear, issues with Medicaid coverage and parental responsibility. In general, adolescents and their parents are in need of information regarding the importance of preventive dental care. CONCLUSIONS Findings illuminate barriers to dental care faced by low-income rural adolescents and counter public perceptions of government-sponsored dental care programs as being "free" or without cost. The importance of improved oral health knowledge, better access to care, and school-based dental care is discussed.
The Extent, Characteristics and Impacts of FDI and Multinational Firm Activities. A Firm Level Analysis

The study examines the impact of Austrian outward foreign direct investments (FDI) on home based parent company employment. The analysis is based on the AMADEUS firm-level database and an improved methodology by applying matching methods and the difference in difference estimator. In this way we are able to overcome the major shortcomings of earlier studies on the home market effects of Austrian outward FDI, which included data on foreign direct investors only leading to biased estimates and preventing the deduction of causal relationships. Overall the results indicate that investing abroad strengthens the employment performance in the home country. This is also true for Austrian foreign direct investments in Eastern European locations. We also analyse the major factors determining the firms' decision to invest abroad as well as decisions on the degree of multinationality, which we measure by the number of foreign affiliates owned. Firm size, firm age, the capital intensity and the number of shareholders are significant determinants for the number of subsidiaries. The analysis also corroborates theoretical results establishing the fact that foreign direct investment activities are driven by firm specific advantages and a superior productivity performance in the pre-investment period. Thus, firms that start foreign activities are ex-ante different from non-investing purely domestic firms.
Presynaptic Localization of Smn and hnRNP R in Axon Terminals of Embryonic and Postnatal Mouse Motoneurons

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is caused by deficiency of the ubiquitously expressed survival motoneuron (SMN) protein. SMN is crucial component of a complex for the assembly of spliceosomal small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) particles. Other cellular functions of SMN are less characterized so far. SMA predominantly affects lower motoneurons, but the cellular basis for this relative specificity is still unknown. In contrast to nonneuronal cells where the protein is mainly localized in perinuclear regions and the nucleus, Smn is also present in dendrites, axons and axonal growth cones of isolated motoneurons in vitro. However, this distribution has not been shown in vivo and it is not clear whether Smn and hnRNP R are also present in presynaptic axon terminals of motoneurons in postnatal mice. Smn also associates with components not included in the classical SMN complex like RNA-binding proteins FUS, TDP43, HuD and hnRNP R which are involved in RNA processing, subcellular localization and translation. We show here that Smn and hnRNP R are present in presynaptic compartments at neuromuscular endplates of embryonic and postnatal mice. Smn and hnRNP R are localized in close proximity to each other in axons and axon terminals both in vitro and in vivo. We also provide new evidence for a direct interaction of Smn and hnRNP R in vitro and in vivo, particularly in the cytosol of motoneurons. These data point to functions of SMN beyond snRNP assembly which could be crucial for recruitment and transport of RNA particles into axons and axon terminals, a mechanism which may contribute to SMA pathogenesis.
Sociology: The Core

Part 1 Developing a sociological consciousness. Part 2 Culture and social structure. Part 3 Socialisation. Part 4 Social groups and formal organizations. Part 5 Deviance and crime. Part 6 Social stratification. Part 7 Inequalities of race and ethnicity. Part 8 Gender inequality. Part 9 Political and economic power. Part 10 The family. Part 11 Religion, education and medicine. Part 12 The human environment. Part 13 Social change.
The Radical Right

Two vivid sets of images epitomize the dramatic course of the American right in the last quarter of the twentieth century. The main image is of a triumphant President Ronald Reagan, reasonably viewed as the most effec-tive president of recent decades. A second set of images comes from the bombing of a government building in Oklahoma City by Timothy McVeigh, a man linked to shadowy parts of the contemporary ultraright. The roots of Reaganism are conservative, intellectual, and political movements of the 1950s and 1960s, including currents that in those years were considered marginal and ex-tremist. The roots of the ultraright of the 1990s have intersecting though by no means identical sources. Serious evaluation of the American right should begin with The Radical Right. It describes the main positions and composition of distinctive forces on the right in the first half of the 1950s and the next decade. It recognizes the right's vehement opposition to domestic and international Communism, its sharp rejec-tion of the New Deal, and its difficulty in distinguishing between the two. Bell's controversial point of departure is to regard the basic position of what he terms the radical right as excessive in its estimation of the Communist threat and unrealistic in its rejection of New Deal reforms. From this starting point, Bell and his authors evaluate the ways the right went beyond programs and the self-descriptions of its leaders and organizers. The Radical Right explains McCarthyism and its successors in terms of conflicts over social status and the shape of American culture. Daniel Bell focuses on the social dislo-cation of significant groups in the post-New Deal decades. Many members of these groups perceived themselves as dispossessed and victimized by recent changes, even if it was not possible to regard them as having undergone any great suffering. David Plotke's major new introduction discusses the book's argument, McCarthyism and American politics, the changing shape of the American right from 1965-2000, mili-tias, and new issues in American politics. This edition also includes an afterword by Daniel Bell responding to Plotke's interpretation and revisiting his own perspectives.
Extraction Costs in the Theory of Exhaustible Resources

This paper has two objectives. First, it reformulates the theory of optimal use of an exhaustible resource with more attention to the costs of extraction than has been customary in the literature. The output and shadow-price implications of optimal extraction are studied under these broader assumptions. Second, the paper provides some numerical solutions of a simple two-grade case, to give some feeling for the quantitative importance of changes in the supply of exhaustible resources. Our most striking result is, in fact, the suggestion that relatively large changes in resource availability generate very small changes in the sustainable level of final consumption.
Wesleyan University From the SelectedWorks of Andrea L Patalano 2007 Indecisiveness and response to risk in deciding when to decide

When making decisions, people must determine not only what to choose but also when to choose. Do individuals modulate behavior in response to potential risks associated with delay in determining when to choose? The present work provides evidence that at least one group of people—indecisive individuals—do not. Two process-tracing studies simulated a 5-day college-course selection period in which new course alternatives appeared on each day. In a risk-free condition, no risks were associated with delay of decision making over the days. In a risk condition, each day of delay was associated with a risk of loss of existing course alternatives. Unlike decisive individuals, who modulated days of deliberation in response to presence versus absence of risk, indecisive individuals did not. The results illustrate not that indecisive individuals show uniformly increased delay relative to others, but rather that their delay behavior may be more striking in its unresponsiveness to risk. Copyright # 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. key words indecisiveness; choice deferral; individual differences; process-tracing
Small, highly reflective ice crystals in low‐latitude cirrus

At low latitudes, cirrus are ubiquitous and can be in excess of 100°C colder than the surface, limiting the amount of sunlight absorbed by the earth's atmosphere and surface, and reducing its loss of heat. Here we present aircraft measurements within cirrus over southern Florida indicating that ice crystals have smaller sizes and are more reflective than is assumed in most current climate models. If the measurements are generally representative of low‐latitude cirrus, they point to a first‐order correction to representations of how these clouds affect the earth's climate.
Metabolic Changes in the Visual Cortex Are Linked to Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thinning in Multiple Sclerosis

Objective To investigate the damage to the retinal nerve fiber layer as part of the anterior visual pathway as well as an impairment of the neuronal and axonal integrity in the visual cortex as part of the posterior visual pathway with complementary neuroimaging techniques, and to correlate our results to patients' clinical symptoms concerning the visual pathway. Design, Subjects and Methods Survey of 86 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis that were subjected to retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) measurement by optical coherence tomography, to a routine MRI scan including the calculation of the brain parenchymal fraction (BPF), and to magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 3 tesla, quantifying N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) concentrations in the visual cortex and normal-appearing white matter. Results RNFLT correlated significantly with BPF and visual cortex NAA, but not with normal-appearing white matter NAA. This was connected with the patients' history of a previous optic neuritis. In a combined model, both BPF and visual cortex NAA were independently associated with RNFLT. Conclusions Our data suggest the existence of functional pathway-specific damage patterns exceeding global neurodegeneration. They suggest a strong interrelationship between damage to the anterior and the posterior visual pathway.
Psychological Assessment of Sexually Abused Children and Their Families

Introduction 1. The Purposes of the Psychological Evaluation of Sexually Abused Children and Adolescents 2. Theoretical Framework for Assessment 3. Variability in Sexually Abused Children 4. Attachment Related Assessment 5. Assessment of Dysregulation 6. Evaluation of Sexual Behavior Problems 7. Assessment of Self-Perception 8. Screening
Effect of Bifidobacterium bifidum containing yoghurt on dental plaque bacteria in children.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study is to determine the possible effect of Bifidobacterium bifidum DN-173 010 on dental plaque of children. STUDY DESIGN 52 children (25 F and 27 M), between the ages of 8-10, participated in the present study. The study had a double blind, randomized crossover design and the experimental period consisted of four consecutive time periods. During periods 2 and 4 (2 weeks each), children consumed 110 g probiotic fruit yogurt (Bifidobacterium DN-173 010 (1 x 10(10) cfu/g)), or a placebo fruit yogurt per day. Available supragingival plaque (24 h later) was collected from teeth 16, 11, 36 and 31 at baseline and at the end of periods 2 and 4. The counts of dental plaque mutans streptococci (MS) were evaluated using Dentocult SM (Strep Mutans). RESULTS Changes of pre- and post-treatment levels of dental plaque MS were recorded for four consecutive sampling sites. There were no statistically differences between transition scores of test and placebo groups regarding different dental plaque sampling sites (p > 0.05) (unpaired t-test). CONCLUSION Within the limitations of the present study, Bifidobacterium bifidum DN-173 010 has no effect on dental plaque MS levels in children.