Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Semantic-based IoT device discovery and recommendation mechanism

The Internet of Things is about data, different devices from different places and the connectivity between them. Our goal is to find a way to interact with the devices and their data, according to the customer's requirements, in the IoT context, all this supported by the use of Web services. We present a broker based architecture for service selection which facilitates devices to specify both functional and non-functional requirements. We develop a device discovery and recommendation mechanism based on a proposed web service similarity metric.
Evaluation of molecular forms of prostate‐specific antigen and human kallikrein 2 in predicting biochemical failure after radical prostatectomy

Most pretreatment risk‐assessment models to predict biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy (RP) for prostate cancer rely on total prostate‐specific antigen (PSA), clinical stage, and biopsy Gleason grade. We investigated whether free PSA (fPSA) and human glandular kallikrein‐2 (hK2) would enhance the predictive accuracy of this standard model. Preoperative serum samples and complete clinical data were available for 1,356 patients who underwent RP for localized prostate cancer from 1993 to 2005. A case‐control design was used, and conditional logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between preoperative predictors and BCR after RP. We constructed multivariable models with fPSA and hK2 as additional preoperative predictors to the base model. Predictive accuracy was assessed with the area under the ROC curve (AUC). There were 146 BCR cases; the median follow up for patients without BCR was 3.2 years. Overall, 436 controls were matched to 146 BCR cases. The AUC of the base model was 0.786 in the entire cohort; adding fPSA and hK2 to this model enhanced the AUC to 0.798 (p = 0.053), an effect largely driven by fPSA. In the subgroup of men with total PSA ≤10 ng/ml (48% of cases), adding fPSA and hK2 enhanced the AUC of the base model to a similar degree (from 0.720 to 0.726, p = 0.2). fPSA is routinely measured during prostate cancer detection. We suggest that the role of fPSA in aiding preoperative prediction should be investigated in further cohorts. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Efficacy of Retigabine on Acute Limbic Seizures in Adult Rats

Background and Purpose: The efficacy of retigabine (RGB), a positive allosteric modulator of K+ channels indicated for adjunct treatment of partial seizures, was studied in two adult models of kainic acid (KA)-induced status epilepticus to determine it’s toleratbility. Methods: Retigabine was administered systemiclly at high (5 mg/kg) and low (1–2 mg/kg) doses either 30 min prior to or 2 hr after KA-induced status epilepticus. High (1 µg/µL) and low (0.25 µg/µL) concentrations of RGB were also delivered by intrahippocampal microinjection in the presence of KA. Results: Dose-dependent effects of RGB were observed with both models. Lower doses increased seizure behavior latency and reduced the number of single spikes and synchronized burst events in the electroencephalogram (EEG). Higher doses worsened seizure behavior, produced severe ataxia, and increased spiking activity. Animals treated with RGB that were resistant to seizures did not exhibit significant injury or loss in GluR1 expression; however if stage 5–6 seizures were reached, typical hippocampal injury and depletion of GluR1 subunit protein in vulernable pyramidal fields occurred. Conclusions: RGB was neuroprotective only if seizures were significantly attenuated. GluR1 was simultaneously suppressed in the resistant granule cell layer in presence of RGB which may weaken excitatory transmission. Biphasic effects observed herein suggest that the human dosage must be carefully scrutinized to produce the optimal clinical response.
Antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli with special reference to plasmid profiles of Japanese clinical isolates

A total of 111 clinical isolates of Campylobacter jejuni and 10 clinical isolates of Campylobacter coli were characterized by their susceptibility to nine antimicrobial agents and by their plasmid profiles on agarose gel electrophoresis. All of the C. jejuni isolates were susceptible to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, kanamycin, and nalidixic acid, but 55% were tetracycline resistant. In the 10 C. coli isolates, a high prevalence of multiple-antibiotic resistance was noted. Plasmids were found in 82% of the tetracycline-resistant and 15% of the tetracycline-susceptible C. jejuni isolates. Tetracycline resistance in six randomly selected C. jejuni isolates, which contained 50- or 135-kilobase (kb) plasmids, was transferred by conjugation to a Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus recipient with recovery of a 50- or a 45-kb plasmid from transconjugants. From one multiple-antibiotic-resistant C. coli isolate, resistance to tetracycline, kanamycin, and chloramphenicol was transferred concomitantly with a 58-kb plasmid, pNR9589. Nonconjugative 98-kb plasmids, pNR9131 and pNR9581, from C. coli isolates with resistance to tetracycline, kanamycin, and erythromycin were shown by cloning experiments to code for at least kanamycin resistance. Restriction digests revealed that 50-kb plasmids from tetracycline-resistant C. jejuni isolates were identical, although plasmids from multiple-antibiotic-resistant C. coli isolates shared partial DNA homology to each other. Cloning of the kanamycin and chloramphenicol resistance genes of pNR9589 into Escherichia coli showed that the two genes are closely linked or clustered. Double-digestion analysis of the fragments encoding the kanamycin resistance of pNR9131, pNR9581, and pNR9589 showed that these three plasmids contain a common fragment related to kanamycin resistance.
Perceived Cultural Responsiveness and Effectiveness of a Speech and Language Program for Indigenous Preschool Students

Abstract Despite an increasing need for culturally relevant curricula, what is considered culturally responsive and how it is assessed is under-researched. The present study examined the perceived cultural responsiveness and effectiveness of an early intervention program designed to teach early language skills and expose students to Indigenous culture, the Moe the Mouse® Speech, and Language Development Program. Educator’s perceptions of the program were assessed through a Likert-type survey provided to implementers across British Columbia. The survey was completed by 58 respondents using the program. Results indicated that the respondents perceived the program to be culturally responsive, and their perceptions of cultural responsiveness were significantly related to ratings of effectiveness, use, and social validity. Responsiveness was not rated as highly by respondents in a different geographic region than where the program was developed. Finally, effectiveness in improving speech and language skills was rated higher when educators integrated the program into the regular curriculum or incorporated Native language instruction. Implications for research and practice are reviewed.
60-GHz 64- and 256-Elements Wafer-Scale Phased-Array Transmitters Using Full-Reticle and Subreticle Stitching Techniques

This paper presents 60-GHz wafer-scale transmit phased arrays with 64- and 256-elements spaced λ/2 apart in the x- and y-directions, and occupying an area of 21.4 × 22 mm2 (471 mm2) and 41.4 × 42 mm2 (1740 mm2), respectively. The 64-element phased array is built as a complete reticle and includes 64 independent transmit channels with 5-b phase control, 3-b (9 dB) amplitude control, a saturated output power of 3 dBm at the antenna port, a 1-64 distribution network with redundant line amplifiers, and a high-efficiency on-chip antenna at each element. In addition, redundant serial digital interface and power strips, dual series metal-insulator-metal capacitors, and multiple RF inputs are employed for improved yield. The 256-element array uses the same phased-array blocks as the 64-element design, but is built using a subreticle stitching technique so as to result in a chip which is larger than the standard reticle size (22 × 22 mm2). The 64and 256-element arrays result in a half-power beamwidth of 12° and 6° in the E- and H-planes, a directivity of 23 and 29 dB, respectively, and scan to ±55° in the E- and H-planes with near-ideal patterns and a crosspolarization level of lesser than -30 dB. The measured equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of the 64-element array is 38 dBm at 62 GHz with a 3-dB bandwidth of 61-63 GHz, while that of the 256-element array is 45 dBm at 61 GHz with a 3-dB beamwidth of 58-64 GHz. A 1-4-Gb/s communication system is also demonstrated using the 64-element phased array up to ±45° scan angles, and at 4-, 30-, and 100-m ranges. To the best of our knowledge, this paper represents the first demonstration of large size (64and 256-element) phased-array transmitters on a single wafer.
A novel model for smart breast cancer detection in thermogram images.

BACKGROUND Accuracy in feature extraction is an important factor in image classification and retrieval. In this paper, a breast tissue density classification and image retrieval model is introduced for breast cancer detection based on thermographic images. The new method of thermographic image analysis for automated detection of high tumor risk areas, based on two-directional two-dimensional principal component analysis technique for feature extraction, and a support vector machine for thermographic image retrievalwas tested on 400 images. The sensitivity and specificity of the model are 100% and 98%, respectively.
Part 2 b . Practices Designed To Improve Overall System / Multiple Targets Chapter 31 . Human Factors and Ergonomics

Many patient safety incidents are related to lack of attention to human factors and ergonomics (HFE) in the design and implementation of technologies, processes, workflows, jobs, teams and sociotechnical systems. For instance, a systems analysis of medication errors 1 identified a range of proximal causes of medication errors, such as rule violations, memory slips and lapses, poor communication with other services, and incorrect pump programming caused by poor design of the pump interface. Lack of attention to HFE in areas such as technology design can contribute to medication errors and preventable adverse drug events. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on Medication Errors 2 emphasizes the need for addressing HFE issues, such as the design of medication labels and packages, and the design of medication administration technologies (e.g., infusion pump). A study by Han et al. 3 in a pediatric hospital showed an increase in mortality rates after the implementation of Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE); many factors that contributed to the increase were related to HFE. For instance, the design of the CPOE interface required about 10 clicks per order, thus significantly increasing time needed to enter orders. The poor usability of the CPOE system and its lack of integration with clinician workflow contributed to delays in patient care that were a major factor in the increased mortality rate after CPOE implementation. The recent IOM report on Health IT and Patient Safety 4 clearly indicates the need for HFE in the design, implementation and use of health IT. The report proposes a sociotechnical approach that emphasizes the need for health IT to support clinical workflows. Increased cognitive workload associated with the implementation and use of health IT and lack of usability of health IT are two HFE issues associated with patient safety incidents highlighted in the report. A systematic review showed how environmental hazards can contribute to patient safety incidents such as patient falls. 5 For instance, the use of bedrails can contribute to patient falls by contributing to entrapment injuries. These studies provide evidence for the importance of HFE in patient safety; they highlight the range of physical, cognitive and organizational HFE issues that can contribute to patient safety incidents. There are many other examples of how lack of attention to HFE contributes to patient safety incidents. For instance, a fatal medication error occurred on July 5, 2006 at St. Mary's hospital in Madison, WI: An epidural penicillin …
Selenium inhibits renal oxidation and inflammation but not acute kidney injury in an animal model of rhabdomyolysis.

UNLABELLED Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a manifestation of rhabdomyolysis (RM). Extracellular myoglobin accumulating in the kidney after RM promotes oxidative damage, which is implicated in AKI. AIM To test whether selenium (Se) supplementation diminishes AKI and improves renal function. RESULTS Dietary selenite increased Se in the renal cortex, as demonstrated by X-ray fluorescence microscopy. Experimental RM-stimulated AKI as judged by increased urinary protein/creatinine, clusterin, and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), decreased creatinine clearance (CCr), increased plasma urea, and damage to renal tubules. Concentrations of cholesterylester (hydro)peroxides and F₂-isoprostanes increased in plasma and renal tissues after RM, while aortic and renal cyclic guanidine monophosphate (cGMP; marker of nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability) decreased. Renal superoxide dismutase-1, phospho-P65, TNFα gene, MCP-1 protein, and the 3-chloro-tyrosine/tyrosine ratio (Cl-Tyr/Tyr; marker of neutrophil activation) all increased after RM. Dietary Se significantly decreased renal lipid oxidation, phospho-P65, TNFα gene expression, MCP-1 and Cl-Tyr/Tyr, improved NO bioavailability in aorta but not in the renal microvasculature, and inhibited proteinuria. However, CCr, plasma urea and creatinine, urinary clusterin, and histopathological assessment of AKI remained unchanged. Except for the Se++ group, renal angiotensin-receptor-1/2 gene/protein expression increased after RM with parallel increases in MEK1/2 inhibitor-sensitive MAPkinase (ERK) activity. INNOVATION We employed synchrotron radiation to identify Se distribution in kidneys, in addition to assessing reno-protection after RM. CONCLUSION Se treatment has some potential as a therapeutic for AKI as it inhibits oxidative damage and inflammation and decreases proteinuria, albeit histopathological changes to the kidney and some plasma and urinary markers of AKI remain unaffected after RM.
TWISTED L2 INVARIANTS OF NON-SIMPLY CONNECTED MANIFOLDS AND ASYMPTOTIC L2 MORSE INEQUALITIES

We develop the theory of twisted L-cohomology and twisted spectral invariants for flat Hilbertian bundles over compact manifolds. They can be viewed as functions on H(M, R) and they generalize the standard notions. A new feature of the twisted L-cohomology theory is that in addition to satisfying the standard L Morse inequalities, they also satisfy certain asymptotic L Morse inequalities. These reduce to the standard Morse inequalities in the finite dimensional case, and when the Morse 1-form is exact. We define the extended twisted L de Rham cohomology and prove the asymptotic L Morse-Farber inequalities, which give quantitative lower bounds for the Morse numbers of a Morse 1-form on M .
Fast and Accurate Color Images Processing Using 3D Graphics Cards

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the new technologies introduced in recent 3D cards can be used in color image processing and analysis. We used the latest programmability feature available in 3D cards in order to implement and to test five color image processing algorithms: local mean filtering, RGB to L∗a∗b∗ and RGB to HSV color spaces conversions, local principal component analysis and anisotropic diffusion filtering. Using a nVIDIAT M NV30 graphic processor unit (GPU) we obtained, in most cases of study, faster results than with the tested processors (CPU). We are showing that the GPU can be 10 times faster than the best CPU that we have tested in the case of per-pixel processing with mathematical complex functions and vectorial calculations.
Transmedia teens: Affect, immaterial labor, and user-generated content

The internet offers teens (especially girls, who have embraced social aspects of the web) a voice in the books they read, from reviewing, blogging, and creating fan sites, to actually collaborating on books-in-progress — such as The Amanda Project — by writing portions of the book or suggesting storylines. But while these new means of participation are seemingly empowering for teenage girls, is this participation a form of empowerment, or is it merely a way for publishers to exploit teens’ labor to create commodified cultural products which they in turn can sell back to the teens who helped shape them? In an era of user-generated content, this article examines how teens’ affective labor as peer-to-peer-marketers and content creators is changing the transmedia cultural products created for them.
Indices for monitoring changes in extremes based on daily temperature and precipitation data

Indices for climate variability and extremes have been used for a long time, often by assessing days with temperature or precipitation observations above or below specific physically‐based thresholds. While these indices provided insight into local conditions, few physically based thresholds have relevance in all parts of the world. Therefore, indices of extremes evolved over time and now often focus on relative thresholds that describe features in the tails of the distributions of meteorological variables. In order to help understand how extremes are changing globally, a subset of the wide range of possible indices is now being coordinated internationally which allows the results of studies from different parts of the world to fit together seamlessly. This paper reviews these as well as other indices of extremes and documents the obstacles to robustly calculating and analyzing indices and the methods developed to overcome these obstacles. Gridding indices are necessary in order to compare observations with climate model output. However, gridding indices from daily data are not always straightforward because averaging daily information from many stations tends to dampen gridded extremes. The paper describes recent progress in attribution of the changes in gridded indices of extremes that demonstrates human influence on the probability of extremes. The paper also describes model projections of the future and wraps up with a discussion of ongoing efforts to refine indices of extremes as they are being readied to contribute to the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report. WIREs Clim Change 2011, 2:851–870. doi: 10.1002/wcc.147
Combining goal inference and natural-language dialogue for human-robot joint action

We demonstrate how combining the reasoning components from two existing systems designed for human-robot joint action produces an integrated system with greater capabilities than either of the individual systems. One of the systems supports primarily non-verbal interaction and uses dynamic neural fields to infer the user’s goals and to suggest appropriate system responses; the other emphasises natural-language interaction and uses a dialogue manager to process user input and select appropriate system responses. Combining these two methods of reasoning results in a robot that is able to coordinate its actions with those of the user while employing a wide range of verbal and non-verbal communicative actions.
From Politics to Protest

Abstract:From 2009 through 2014, political protests erupted in more than 70 countries around the world, in both democracies and non-democracies. In most cases, the protests were not led by a political party or a trade union, and the protesters themselves were openly anti-institutional, mistrustful of both the market and the state, and lacked a coherent ideology. In this article, the author claims that though these “movements of mistrust” do not claim power and do not offer political alternative to the status quo, they do represent an effective strategy of citizen empowerment in the age of globalization, when the power of citizens derives mainly from their ability to disrupt.
The Effect of the Meridian Shoe on Vertical Jump and Sprint Performances Following Short‐Term Combined Plyometric/Sprint and Resistance Training

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of sprint/plyometric training with the Meridian Elyte-style shoe on various performance parameters. Seventeen healthy men were randomly assigned to either an athletic-shoe training group (AS) or a Meridian Elyte-shoe training group (MS). Both groups participated in an 8-week training program consisting of weight training and sprint/plyometric training. Anthropometry, muscular strength, speed, power, and rate of force development assessments were performed pre-and posttraining. Both groups demonstrated similar increases in 1RM squat and bench press, power output, and rate of force development during jumping. Both groups demonstrated similar improved 40-yd dash times, but the MS group showed greater improvement in 60-yd dash times (4 vs. 2%, respectively). The MS group significantly increased their vertical jump height, whereas only a trend (p = 0.08) for improvement was observed in the AS group. Rate of sub-maximal force development of the plantar flexor muscles in the dorsiflexed position improved to a greater extent in the MS group. Compared to 2 previous studies, this newly designed model of strength shoe showed a lower incidence of pain and injury. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicate that the Meridian Elyte shoe may have an ergogenic effect on performance when used during 8 weeks of sprint/plyometric training.
When Distance is Problematic: Communication, Coping, and Relational Satisfaction in Female College Students' Long-Distance Dating Relationships

This manuscript is one of many in a special issue of the Journal of Applied Communication Research on “Communication and Distance,” Volume 38, No. 1. The purposes of this study are to gain an in-depth understanding of the situations in which long-distance dating relationships (LDDRs) are distressing for female college students, and to examine the associations between the perceived helpfulness of various communication coping strategies and relational satisfaction in both high and low distress LDDRs. Results indicate that the perceived helpfulness of joint problem solving was a major predictor of satisfaction among participants in low distress LDDRs, whereas the perceived helpfulness of openness was a major predictor of satisfaction among the participants in high distress LDDRs. Implications for research on LDDRs and coping are discussed.
Analysis and design of triple-rotor axial-flux spoke-array vernier permanent magnet machines

This paper presents a triple-rotor axial-flux spoke-array vernier permanent magnet (TR-AFSAVPM) machine to enhance the performance of vernier machines. By cooperating spoke-array rotor and coil-wounded winding, power factor and torque density of the proposed machines are much improved and their copper utilization is reduced as well comparing with conventional vernier machines. Firstly, the machine structure and operation principles are introduced. After that, analytical equations of the machine back-EMF and torque are derived to reveal its features. Based on both quasi-3D finite element analysis (FEA) and 3D-FEA, its high torque density performance is verified and a set of optimized machine sizing specifications is ultimately settled. A fractional slot axial-flux permanent magnet machine and an axial-flux surface vernier permanent magnet machine are designed to compare with the proposed machine. Analysis results show that the TR-AFSAVPM machine has high power factor, viz. 0.97 and high torque density, viz. 24.2kNm/m3. A prototype has been designed and is being manufactured to validate the results.