Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Influencing Consumers’ E-Commerce Commodity Purchases

The 2002 North America Online Report published by eMarketer estimates that almost 24 million pre-college age students (ages 9-17) are already shopping online and gaining valuable e-commerce purchasing experience. Estimates of online shopping usage project steady growth, the number of young adults buying online will increase proportionally. This research seeks to develop a better understanding of the factors motivating young people to select e-commerce vendors for commodity purchases by exploring attitudes, demographic characteristics and purchase decision perceptions (i.e., the product, shopping experience, customer service, and consumer risk). Findings indicate that young adults with a history of e-commerce purchasing experience have a more positive attitude towards online buying than do young adults without e-commerce purchasing experience. In a related finding, a history of e-commerce purchasing experience serves as a good predictor of future e-commerce commodity purchases. Additionally, consumer risk and shopping experience perceptions were found to influence experienced e-commerce shoppers’ commodity purchase decisions more than customer service or consumer risk.
Development of the athlete sleep behavior questionnaire: A tool for identifying maladaptive sleep practices in elite athletes

Introduction: Existing sleep questionnaires to assess sleep behaviors may not be sensitive in determining the unique sleep challenges faced by elite athletes. The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate the Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire (ASBQ) to be used as a practical tool for support staff working with elite athletes. Methods: 564 participants (242 athletes, 322 non-athletes) completed the 18-item ASBQ and three previously validated questionnaires; the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). A cohort of the studied population performed the ASBQ twice in one week to assess test-retest reliability, and also performed sleep monitoring via wrist-actigraphy. Results: Comparison of the ASBQ with existing sleep questionnaires resulted in moderate to large correlations ( r =0.32 - 0.69). There was a significant difference between athletes and non-athletes for the ASBQ global score (44±6 vs . 41±6, respectively, p <0.01) and for the PSQI, but not for the SHI or the ESS. The reliability of the ASBQ was acceptable (ICC=0.87) when re-tested within 7 days. There was a moderate relationship between ASBQ and total sleep time ( r =-0.42). Conclusion: The ASBQ is a valid and reliable tool that can differentiate the sleep practices between athletes and non-athletes, and offers a practical instrument for practitioners and/or researchers wanting to evaluate the sleep behaviors of elite athletes. The ASBQ may provide information on areas where improvements to individual athletes’ sleep habits could be made.
The Impact of Familial Expressed Emotion on Clinical and Personal Recovery Among Patients With Psychiatric Disorders: The Mediating Roles of Self-Stigma Content and Process

The present study examined the associations of familial expressed emotion (EE) with clinical and personal recovery among patients with psychiatric disorders, as well as the potential mechanisms underlying these associations. Guided by the content–process theory of self-stigma, we hypothesized that EE would be negatively associated with clinical and personal recovery and that these associations would be mediated by self-stigma content and process. A total of 311 patients with psychiatric disorders completed questionnaires on their perceptions of EE, self-stigma, and recovery. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that EE was positively associated with self-stigma content and process, which were in turn negatively associated with clinical and personal recovery. The indirect effects of EE on clinical and personal recovery, via self-stigma content and process, were also significant. Multigroup analyses further demonstrated that the impact of EE on self-stigma and recovery was generalizable across patients with psychotic and nonpsychotic disorders. Theoretically, our findings revealed the potential pathways through which EE may adversely affect psychiatric recovery. Practically, our findings highlighted the importance of designing multipronged intervention programs to reduce familial EE and its potential harmful impact on psychiatric patients. In addition to helping family members improve their knowledge about psychiatric disorders and adjust their communication styles, practitioners should help psychiatric patients develop resilience against EE, mitigate self-stigma, and achieve recovery.
Generalizability of heterogeneous treatment effect estimates across samples

Significance In experiments, the degree to which results generalize to other populations depends critically on the degree of treatment effect heterogeneity. We replicated 27 survey experiments (encompassing 101,745 individual survey responses) originally conducted on nationally representative samples using online convenience samples, finding very high correspondence despite obvious differences in sample composition. We contend this pattern is due to low treatment effect heterogeneity in these types of standard social science survey experiments. The extent to which survey experiments conducted with nonrepresentative convenience samples are generalizable to target populations depends critically on the degree of treatment effect heterogeneity. Recent inquiries have found a strong correspondence between sample average treatment effects estimated in nationally representative experiments and in replication studies conducted with convenience samples. We consider here two possible explanations: low levels of effect heterogeneity or high levels of effect heterogeneity that are unrelated to selection into the convenience sample. We analyze subgroup conditional average treatment effects using 27 original–replication study pairs (encompassing 101,745 individual survey responses) to assess the extent to which subgroup effect estimates generalize. While there are exceptions, the overwhelming pattern that emerges is one of treatment effect homogeneity, providing a partial explanation for strong correspondence across both unconditional and conditional average treatment effect estimates.
Comparison of Two Speech/Music Segmentation Systems For Audio Indexing on the Web

This article talks about two majors ways of performing a speech/music segmentation task. The first one uses a competing modelling approach based on classical speech recognition parameters (MFCC). The second one uses a class/non-class approach for both main topics: speech/non-speech and music/non-music. In order to fit closely speech and music characteristics, different kinds of parameters are used, MFCC and spectral coefficients. We present both approaches with some intrinsic experiments. Then, we compare their speech/music discrimination accuracy using a real-world testing corpus: a broadcast program containing noisy interviews, superimposed segments (speech with music), and an alternation of broad-band speech and telephone speech. Within the classical approach, we can notice that either the derivative alone, or the second derivative alone, plays a major role in the discrimination process as well as the number of cepstral coefficients. In the differentiated way, the class/non-class approach is more homogeneous.
Inhibition of the Activin Receptor Type-2B Pathway Restores Regenerative Capacity in Satellite Cell-Depleted Skeletal Muscle

Degenerative myopathies typically display a decline in satellite cells coupled with a replacement of muscle fibers by fat and fibrosis. During this pathological remodeling, satellite cells are present at lower numbers and do not display a proper regenerative function. Whether a decline in satellite cells directly contributes to disease progression or is a secondary result is unknown. In order to dissect these processes, we used a genetic model to reduce the satellite cell population by ~70–80% which leads to a nearly complete loss of regenerative potential. We observe that while no overt tissue damage is observed following satellite cell depletion, muscle fibers atrophy accompanied by changes in the stem cell niche cellular composition. Treatment of these mice with an Activin receptor type-2B (AcvR2B) pathway blocker reverses muscle fiber atrophy as expected, but also restores regenerative potential of the remaining satellite cells. These findings demonstrate that in addition to controlling fiber size, the AcvR2B pathway acts to regulate the muscle stem cell niche providing a more favorable environment for muscle regeneration.
Severe and predominantly active atopic eczema in adulthood and long term risk of cardiovascular disease: population based cohort study

Abstract Objective To investigate whether adults with atopic eczema are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and whether the risk varies by atopic eczema severity and condition activity over time. Design Population based matched cohort study. Setting UK electronic health records from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, Hospital Episode Statistics, and data from the Office for National Statistics, 1998–2015. Participants Adults with a diagnosis of atopic eczema, matched (on age, sex, general practice, and calendar time) to up to five patients without atopic eczema. Main outcome measures Cardiovascular outcomes (myocardial infarction, unstable angina, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, and cardiovascular death). Results 387 439 patients with atopic eczema were matched to 1 528 477 patients without atopic eczema. The median age was 43 at cohort entry and 66% were female. Median follow-up was 5.1 years. Evidence of a 10% to 20% increased hazard for the non-fatal primary outcomes for patients with atopic eczema was found by using Cox regression stratified by matched set. There was a strong dose-response relation with severity of atopic eczema. Patients with severe atopic eczema had a 20% increase in the risk of stroke (hazard ratio 1.22, 99% confidence interval 1.01 to 1.48), 40% to 50% increase in the risk of myocardial infarction, unstable angina, atrial fibrillation, and cardiovascular death, and 70% increase in the risk of heart failure (hazard ratio 1.69, 99% confidence interval 1.38 to 2.06). Patients with the most active atopic eczema (active >50% of follow-up) were also at a greater risk of cardiovascular outcomes. Additional adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors as potential mediators partially attenuated the point estimates, though associations persisted for severe atopic eczema. Conclusions Severe and predominantly active atopic eczema are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular outcomes. Targeting cardiovascular disease prevention strategies among these patients should be considered.
Effect of Radiotherapy on Hearing Thresholds in Patients of Head and Neck Malignancies

Objective: To study the effect of radiotherapy on hearing in patients with head and neck cancer. Methods: A prospective study was undertaken comprising of 30 patients (60 ears) with histopathologically proven head and neck cancer in the age group of 30-75 years. Hearing status was evaluated before and after one month of radiotherapy treatment by pure tone audiometry (PTA) and brainstem evoked response audiometry (BERA). Results: Pre-radiation hearing assessment revealed normal hearing in 20% (12 ears), mild hearing loss in 33.3% (20 ears), moderate hearing loss in 28.3% (17 ears) and moderately severe hearing loss in 18.3% (11 ears). Post-radiation hearing remained same in 58.3% (35 ears), deteriorated in 33.3% (20 ears), and improved in 8.3% (5 ears). Post radiotherapy hearing loss was seen more common in patients older than 50 years of age and who had abnormal pre-radiation hearing status. Conclusion: Hearing loss can occur in a significant number of patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck malignancies hence the patient must be counseled for any post-irradiation hearing loss.
Towards Self‐Powered Nanosystems: From Nanogenerators to Nanopiezotronics

Developing wireless nanodevices and nanosystems are of critical importance for sensing, medical science, defense technology, and even personal electronics. It is highly desirable for wireless devices and even required for implanted biomedical devices that they be self‐powered without use of a battery. It is essential to explore innovative nanotechnologies for converting mechanical energy (such as body movement, muscle stretching), vibrational energy (such as acoustic or ultrasonic waves), and hydraulic energy (such as body fluid flow) into electrical energy, which will be used to power nanodevices without a battery. This is a key step towards self‐powered nanosystems. We have demonstrated an innovative approach for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy by piezoelectric zinc oxide nanowire (NW) arrays. The operation mechanism of the electric generator relies on the unique coupling of the piezoelectric and semiconducting properties of ZnO as well as the gating effect of the Schottky barrier formed between the metal tip and the NW. Based on this mechanism, we have recently developed a DC nanogenerator (NG) driven by the ultrasonic wave in a biofluid and a textile‐fiber‐based NG for harvesting low‐frequency mechanical energy. Furthermore, a new field, “nanopiezotronics”, has been developed, which uses coupled piezoelectric–semiconducting properties for fabricating novel and unique electronic devices and components. This Feature Article gives a systematic description of the fundamental mechanism of the NG, its rationally innovative design for high output power, and the new electronics that can be built based on a piezoelectric‐driven semiconducting process. A perspective will be given about the future impact of the technologies.
Choosing sides 1 Alliance formation in a side-taking experiment

We investigate in an economic experiment how people choose sides in disputes. In an eightplayer side-taking game, two disputants at a time fight over an indivisible resource and other group members choose sides. The player with more supporters wins the resource, which is worth real money. Conflicts occur spontaneously between any two individuals in the group. Players choose sides by ranking their loyalties to everyone else in the group and they automatically support the disputant they ranked higher. We manipulate participants’ information about other players’ loyalties and also their ability to communicate with public chat messages. We find that participants spontaneously and quickly formed alliances, and more information about loyalties caused more alliance-building. Without communication, we observe little evidence of bandwagon or egalitarian strategies, but with communication, some groups invented rank rotation schemes to equalize payoffs while choosing the same side to avoid fighting costs.
Energy Sustainable IoT With Individual QoS Constraints Through MISO SWIPT Multicasting

Enabling technologies for energy sustainable Internet of Things (IoT) are of paramount importance since the proliferation of high data rate demands of low power network devices. In this paper, we consider a multiple input single output (MISO) multicasting system comprising of a multiantenna transmitter (TX) simultaneously transferring information and power to data hungry IoT nodes. Each IoT device is assumed to be equipped with power splitting (PS) hardware that enables energy harvesting (EH) and imposes an individual quality of service (QoS) constraint to the downlink communication. We study the joint design of TX precoding and IoT PS ratios for the considered MISO simultaneous wireless information and power transfer multicasting system with the objective of maximizing the minimum harvested energy among IoT, while satisfying their individual QoS requirements. In our novel EH fairness maximization formulation, we adopt a generic EH model capturing practical rectification operation, and resulting in a nonconvex optimization problem. For this problem, we first present an equivalent semi-definite relaxation formulation and then prove it possesses unique global optimality. We also derive tight upper and lower bounds on the globally optimal solution that are exploited in obtaining low complexity algorithmic implementations for the targeted joint design. Analytical expressions for the optimal TX beamforming directions, power allocation, and PS ratios are also presented. Representative numerical results including comparisons with benchmark designs corroborate the utility of proposed framework and provide useful insights on the interplay of key system parameters.
Comparative Effects Of Propofol Infusion Versus Sevoflurane For Maintenance Of Anesthesia For Spine Surgery

Thirty patients of ASA grade I and II posted for elective spine surgery in prone position under general anesthesia were selected for the study. The patients were randomly assigned into two groups, Sevoflurane (Group S, n=15) and Propofol (Group P, n=15). A standard premedication and induction regimen was followed in all cases. Group S patients received N 2O / O 2 / Sevoflurane / Vecuronium and Group P received N 2O / O 2 / Propofol infusion / Vecuronium for maintenance of anesthesia to a desired level. Recovery was assessed with a simulated wake up test and a simple behavioral score was employed to assesses the over all recovery. The observation revealed that maintenance of anesthesia with sevoflurane was associated with a faster recovery than propofol anesthesia. But in a pharmacoeconomic based approach the increased cost of sevoflurane has to be linked with the benefits of rapid emergence.
Structural analysis of human proximal femur for the prediction of biomechanical strength in vitro: the locally adapted scaling vector method

We introduce an image structure analysis technique suitable in cases where anisotropy plays an important role. The so-called Locally Adapted Scaling Vector Method (LSVM) comprises two steps. First, a procedure to estimate the local main orientation at every point of the image is applied. These orientations are then incorporated in a structure characterization procedure. We apply this methodology to High Resolution Magnetic Resonance Images (HRMRI) of human proximal femoral specimens IN VITRO. We extract a 3D local texture measure to establish correlations with the biomechanical properties of bone specimens quantified via the bone maximum compressive strength. The purpose is to compare our results with the prediction of bone strength using similar isotropic texture measures, bone mineral density, and standard 2D morphometric parameters. Our findings suggest that anisotropic texture measures are superior in cases where directional properties are relevant.
Health care professionals ' views of paediatric outpatient non-attendance

Background. Non-attendance at paediatric hospital outpatient appointments poses potential risks to children’s health and welfare. Prevention and management of missed appointments depends on the perceptions of clinicians and decision makers from both primary and secondary care, including general practitioners (GPs) who are integral to non-attendance follow-up. Objectives. To examine the views of clinical, managerial and executive health care staff regarding occurrence and management of non-attendance at general paediatric outpatient clinics. Methods. A qualitative study using individual semi-structured interviews was carried out at three English Primary Care Trusts and a nearby children’s hospital. Interviews were conducted with 37 staff, including GPs, hospital doctors, other health care professionals, managers, executives and commissioners. Participants were recruited through purposive and ‘snowball’ sampling methods. Data were analysed following a thematic framework approach. Results. GPs focused on situational difficulties for families, while hospital-based staff emphasized the influence of parents’ beliefs on attendance. Managers, executives and commissioners presented a broad overview of both factors, but with less detailed views. All groups discussed sociodemographic factors, with non-attendance thought to be more likely in ‘chaotic families’. Hospital interviewees emphasized child protection issues and the need for thorough follow-up of missed appointments. However, GPs were reluctant to interfere with parental responsibilities. Conclusion. Parental motivation and practical and social barriers should be considered. Responsibilities regarding missed appointments are not clear across health care sectors, but GPs are uniquely placed to address non-attendance issues and are central to child safeguarding. Primary care policies and strategies could be introduced to reduce non-attendance and ensure children receive the care they require.
Title Timing of surgery and bevacizumab therapy in neurosurgical patients with recurrent high grade glioma Permalink

Malignant gliomas continue to have a dismal prognosis despite all available treatments and advances made in understanding molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways. Conventional treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, have been used with limited success. Bevacizumab is a recently described molecule, which inhibits endothelial proliferation and prevents formation of new blood vessels in tumor. However, this treatment confers increased hemorrhage risk and impairs wound healing. Therefore, the timing of surgery for patients receiving bevacizumab, who are in need of surgery, is critical. We performed a literature review to establish the appropriate timing between the cessation of bevacizumab therapy and surgical intervention. Our literature review indicated that the optimum time between cessation of bevacizumab therapy and surgery was 4 weeks. The timing for re-initiation of bevacizumab post-surgery was at least 2 weeks. The duration of preoperative cessation of bevacizumab treatment is critical in preventing life threatening surgical complications. The interval between the surgery and re-initiation of bevacizumab can be shortened. However, more studies are needed to ascertain the exact timing of preoperative and postoperative therapy. 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Only connect? Communication, identification, and autism

Abstract In this paper, we elaborate a theoretical position and report an empirical study on a specific form of interpersonal engagement: the propensity to identify with the subjective orientation of another person. On the basis of a hypothesis that individuals with autism have a relative lack of this form of intersubjective connectedness (Hobson, 1993, 2002), we predicted that children and adolescents with autism would contrast with matched participants without autism (n=12 per group) in specific aspects of communication when someone requested them to “Get Pete to do this” and demonstrated actions in Pete's absence. As predicted, on blind ratings of videotapes of participants’ communication, those with autism achieved lower scores on four indices of identification that were selected a priori: emotional engagement, sharing experience in joint attention, communication of style, and shifting in communicative role. The two groups were almost completely separate on a composite measure of identification. We consider the implications of these findings for typical and atypical development.
THE MECHANISM OF FIRE SUPPRESSION BY CONDENSED AEROSOLS

Condensed fire extinguishing aerosol represents a mixture of fine dispersed solid particles and inert gases. The aerosol can be produced by combustion of some solid fuels (aerosolforming compounds) in special generator. Despite differences in these fuels, they contain as a rule inorganic oxidisers and salts (KNO3, KClO4, KCl) and organic or inorganic combustibles (Mg, epoxycombinations) [1]. A gaseous phase of the aerosol consists mainly from N2 and CO2, and a solid phase contains K2CO3, KHCO3, KCl [2].