Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles in countries of the WHO European Region having faced a recent resurgence of malaria Regional research project , 2003 – 2007

E Within the framework of the new WHO regional strategy aimed at malaria elimination, special attention is given to operational research. In order to update scientifi c knowledge on malaria, the WHO Regional Offi ce for Europe has initiated a regional programme on operational research related to malaria entomology and vector control, which is being carried out successfully with the assistance of research institutions and partners in affected countries of Middle Asia and South Caucasus. The objectives of the research are closely tied to the particular situation and problems identifi ed within a single country or a group of neighbouring countries. The identifi cation and geographical distribution of Anopheles mosquitoes, the prevalence of sibling species and their role in malaria transmission, taxonomy, biology and ecology of malaria vectors are of particular interest in the Region.
Capturing and answering questions posed to a knowledge-based system

As part of the ongoing project, Project Halo, our goal is to build a system capable of answering questions posed by novice users to a formal knowledge base. In our current context, the knowledge base covers selected topics in physics, chemistry, and biology, and our question set consists of AP (advanced high-school) level examination questions. The task is challenging because the questions are linguistically complex and are often incomplete (assume unstated knowledge), and because the users do not have prior knowledge of the system's contents. Our solution involves two parts: a controlled language interface, in which users reformulate the original natural language questions in a simplified version of English, and a novel problem solver that can elaborate initially inadequate logical interpretations of a question by selecting relevant pieces of knowledge in the knowledge base. An evaluation of the work in 2006 showed that this approach is feasible and that complex, multisentence questions can be posed and answered, thus illustrating novel ways of dealing with the knowledge capture impedance between users and a formal knowledge base, while also revealing challenges that still remain.
On Nourishing Peace:The Performativity of Activism throughthe Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize as a global media spectacle centered in Northern Europe is not without controversy. What we hope to accomplish in this essay is two fold: first, to advance the concept of "nourishing peace”, which we define as a process that combines both negative peace and positive peace; and second, to use the theoretical framework woven from Turner's social drama, Conquergood's dialogical performance, and Appadurai's five scapes and global disjunctive flows to engage students in unpacking the Nobel Peace Prize critically, including the recent award of the prize to American President Barak Obama. Our critical analysis notes a few trends over the years of awarding Nobel Peace Prizes: awards framed traditionally from the point of negative peace often went to white men occupying positions of power in the West; and awards framed from the point of positive peace narrowly and nourishing peace broadly opened up more space for women and men of color and organizations that promoted human rights and well beings. The harbinger of this glaring elision in Nobel ideology is the missing Peace Laureate, Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was nominated five times but never became a Laureate in his lifetime. Marking yet another trend, the recent award to President Obama was not for a "completed action”, but rather for a future oriented nourishing peace, i.e., the publicly stated goal of nuclear disarmament and bringing about potentially a peaceful future. As teachers, we are encouraged to draw on Obama’s “call to action” and use the Nobel Peace Prize as a means of inspiring obtainable local action, so that each “aha moment” in students' deep learning can become a turning point for critical consciousness and an impetus for meaningful peace activism both locally and globally.
Global Bifurcation for a Predator-Prey Model with Ivlev Functional Response

The steady-state of a diffusive predator-prey system with Ivlev functional response is considered. Taking the diffusion coefficient as a bifurcation parameter, the local bifurcation from the unique positive constant steady-state solution is obtained and the structure of positive steady-states near the bifurcation point is given. Moreover, we find that the local branch can be extended to the global one. Our method used here is based on the bifurcation theory and Leray-Schauder degree.
Non-fatal Injury on Duty and Associations with Mental Health, Maladaptive Coping, and Sleep Disturbance among Police Officers.

Non-fatal Injury on Duty and associations with Mental Health, Maladaptive Coping, and Sleep Disturbance among Police Officers by Christine Anne West Chair: Sioban D. Harlow Background: Police work involves exposure to multiple critical incident stressors including the risk of being seriously injured or killed. The objective of the research was to examine the prevalence, frequency, duration, and recency of injury leave and the association of injury with perceived stress, mental health, substance use, and sleep quality in U.S. police officers. Methods: The sample population for this study included all 430 active duty police officers from a mid-sized urban police department enrolled in a cohort study between 2004 and 2009. Selfreported measures of mental health and behavioral outcomes and injury leave data were available from work history data. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted comparing mental health, behavioral, and sleep outcomes in officers with and without injury and by increasing number, length and recency of injury.
Changing Organizations: A Meta-Analysis of Change Implementation Strategies' Effects on Organizational Outcomes

Abstract : This research represents a meta-analysis of 24 empirical studies that explored and identified which organizational factors moderated the relationships between facilitation strategies and change adoption The results indicate two key facilitation strategies, participation and communication that produced significant results. Participation resulted in a positive impact on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, performance, and turnover rates, while communication resulted in a positive impact on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, change adoption, and intent to remain. Contrary to many research studies, participation strategy was a non-significant moderator for change adoption. The identified strategies and outcomes were then analyzed for potential moderators. Due to the lack of correlation data, only 10 of 40 potential moderators were analyzed. Four of the 10 moderators only bad two correlations, which was the minimum number required for analysis. As a result, all 10 moderators analyzed resulted in a non-significant impact on the outcomes, making the moderator analysis questionable.
On ensembles of low-density parity-check codes: Asymptotic distance distributions

We derive expressions for the average distance distributions in several ensembles of regular low-density parity-check codes (LDPC). Among these ensembles are the standard one defined by matrices having given column and row sums, ensembles defined by matrices with given column sums or given row sums, and an ensemble defined by bipartite graphs.
A variational Bayesian formulation for GTM: Theoretical foundations

Generative Topographic Mapping (GTM) is a non-linear latent variable model of the manifold learning family that provides simultaneous visualization and clustering of high-dimensional data. It was originally formulated as a constrained mixture of Gaussian distributions, for which the adaptive parameters were determined by Maximum Likelihood (ML), using the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm. In this paper, we define an alternative variational formulation of GTM that provides a full Bayesian treatment to a Gaussian Process (GP) - based variation of the model.
Verapamil-induced improvement in left ventricular diastolic filling and increased exercise tolerance in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: short- and long-term effects.

Verapamil improves exercise tolerance and decreases symptoms in many patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The mechanisms responsible for these effects are not completely understood, although previous studies indicate that verapamil enhances left ventricular relaxation and diastolic filling in such patients. To investigate the association between changes in left ventricular filling and exercise tolerance after verapamil, we studied 55 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy by radionuclide angiography and graded treadmill testing before and after 1 to 4 weeks of therapy with orally administered verapamil, 320 to 640 mg/d. The verapamil-induced increase in peak left ventricular filling rate at rest (from 3.1 +/- 1.3 to 3.7 +/- 1.3 end-diastolic volumes/sec; p less than .001) was associated with an increase in exercise tolerance (from 5.9 +/- 3.6 to 8.7 +/- 4.7 min; p less than .001); exercise capacity increased in 34 of 43 patients (79%) manifesting an increase in peak filling rate but only one of 12 patients (8%) with unchanged or decreased peak filling rate (p less than .001). This initial trend persisted in 25 patients studied after 1 year of therapy; 11 of 16 patients (69%) with a persistent increase in peak filling rate had persistent improvement in exercise tolerance relative to preverapamil values, compared with only one of nine patients (11%) in whom peak filling rate was unchanged or decreased relative to preverapamil levels (p less than .02). Verapamil withdrawal after 1 to 2 years in 24 patients resulted in reduction in peak filling rate (p less than .001) and was associated with deterioration in exercise tolerance in 17 patients (71%). Hence, verapamil-induced changes in left ventricular peak filling rate were associated significantly with objective symptomatic improvement. These data support the concept that enhanced left ventricular diastolic filling is an important mechanism contributing to the clinical improvement experienced by many patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy during therapy with verapamil.
A Systems Approach to Placement: A Holistic Technique

A frequency independent constant beamwidth lens antenna concept is described utilizing a point source to point focus nonspherical lens. The essential feature is that a twisted planar or hyperbolic paraboloidal phase or wave front is formed by the antenna which then in turn produces a frequency indepenent constant beamwidth beam in the far field of the antenna for radiation or reception of planar or nearly planar spherical waves. Moreover, the frequency independent constant beamwidth beam may be steered or scanned in azimuth without moving the lens antenna or a plurality of fixed beams in different directions may be formed simultaneously by the lens antenna.
Ambient Computing Research for Healthcare: Challenges, Opportunities and Experiences

Ambient computing refers to the development of physical environments enhanced through information and communication technology to better serve the needs of users. In contrast with traditional computer applications, ambient computing offers a vision in which computer support migrates from the desktop to the physical environment, thus demanding natural means of interaction, in contrast with the traditional keyboard and mouse. This approach to computing is particularly well suited for working environments characterized by local mobility, frequent activity switching, and intense collaboration, as it is often the case in healthcare. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of research conducted in Mexico for several years towards the development of an ambient computing environment in support of hospital work, the iHospital. The paper describes the research methodology used, major findings, ambient computing technology that has been designed and developed as a response to the needs identified, and results from its evaluation with potential users.
A 0.13µm CMOS 78dB SNDR 87mW 20MHz BW CT ΔΣ ADC with VCO-based integrator and quantizer

Voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) based ADCs have become a topic of great interest due to the unique and attractive signal-processing properties they offer in the design of oversampling converters. Assuming a ring-oscillator structure, the outputs of a VCO toggle between two discrete levels (VDD and GND) like a CMOS digital gate, enabling simple multibit quantization using D-flip-flops. Since only one VCO output phase transitions at a given sampling instant while all others saturate to the positive/negative supply, quantization is robust to flip-flop voltage offsets and metastability, and has guaranteed monotonicity. Furthermore, the VCO behaves as a CT integrator in that its output phase is proportional to the time integral of the applied control voltage. As long as it oscillates, the VCO output phase accumulates endlessly, implying that it is also an integrator with infinite DC gain.
Mindfulness with children and adolescents : current research and future directions

Mindfulness, “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment and non judgementally to the unfolding of experience” (Kabat-Zinn, 2003; p.145) is associated with improved well-being, cognitive functioning and distress in a range of chronic disorders in adults and is additionally becoming more prevalent in the treatment of a number of clinical difficulties in young people, such as anxiety and ADHD. Evidence suggests mindfulness may promote young people’s social and emotional functioning and academic performance. This has led to a growing interest in teaching mindfulness in schools to children and adolescents who do not have clinical diagnoses, where it is possible to use mindfulness in a universal, proactive way, to increase well-being and resilience in the face of potential challenges, rather than having a reactive focus on the alleviation of symptoms and problem behaviours. As with any emerging intervention, examining whether it works must be considered alongside the question of why it works. Focusing on mindfulness training delivered in schools, this paper updates a preliminary review (Burke, 2010) examining the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions delivered to children and adolescents, and provides an initial exploration of the possible underlying mechanisms of change facilitated by mindfulness in young people (e.g. relaxation, metacognitive awareness). There is increasing evidence to suggest that mindfulness training has a positive impact on a range of outcomes, however methodological issues remain and outcomes are less well established for some young people, for example adolescents in typical secondary settings. The review is therefore followed by a study that aimed to evaluate the effects of the ‘. b’ (Stop-Breathe-Be) mindfulness course on early adolescents’ well-being and academic functioning. 120 11 to 12 year olds from a mainstream secondary school took part in the intervention or control groups. Following the eight-week ‘. b’ course, as hypothesised, participants in the intervention group (N=72) demonstrated increased resilience and improved experience of stress, as well as improved inattentive behaviour (as rated by teachers) compared to passive control group participants (N=48). There were no significant differences between groups on measures of mindfulness, aggressive behaviour or academic achievement. Implications for teaching mindfulness in schools are discussed.
Efficient and Secure Storage Systems Based on Peer-to-Peer Systems

Two fundamental problems that confront peer-to-peer applications are to efficiently locate the node that stores a data object and to achieve data security (e.g., confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and authorization). This paper presents a model for secure distributed applications based on peer-to-peer systems and presents Chord , a distributed lookup protocol that address the data object location problem in peer-to-peer systems. The protocol Chord is a novel combination of Chord and Tapestry/Plaxton-Rajaraman-Richa with provable better performance. In particular, node insertion in our scheme could be finished in steps (all other existing node insertion algorithms for peer-to-peer systems take steps—see the summary in Hildrum et al.).
James Baldwin's Style: A Prospectus for the Classroom.

DURING THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, the development of stylistics has opened new possibilities for classroom teaching. While most stylisticians ally themselves with the science of linguistics, the subject of their study is the art of prose; and so style study encounters a kind of schizophrenia between data-processing and aesthetic criticism. This split may be bothersome for the analyst, but it offers several distinct advantages for the teacher, foremost of which is the provision of a tool by which he can demonstrate the nature of prose art for students of the essay, who are usually, of course, students of writing as well. The methods of stylistics permit the teacher to focus clearly and specifically on the particular elements of the essay which create effects: on structures, diction, imagery, even tone and persona. And because the focus is quantitative, students can readily apprehend the causes of these effects, can isolate striking or typical elements, and can, if they want, imitate or avoid the characteristic style of the prose under scrutiny. This is not to say that style analysis is the secret to good writing-talent, practice, and urgency probably comprise that secret, and none of these can be taughtbut it can help at two important levels. It can provide students with discernible models of the mechanics of successful
Caspase Cleavage of the Nonstructural Protein NS1 Mediates Replication of Aleutian Mink Disease Parvovirus

ABSTRACT Virus-induced apoptosis of infected cells can limit both the time and the cellular machinery available for virus replication. Hence, many viruses have evolved strategies to specifically inhibit apoptosis. However, Aleutian mink disease parvovirus (ADV) is the first example of a DNA virus that not only induces apoptosis but also utilizes caspase activity to facilitate virus replication. To determine the function of caspase activity during ADV replication, virus-infected cell lysates or purified ADV proteins were incubated with various purified caspases. Caspases cleaved the major nonstructural protein of ADV (NS1) at two caspase recognition sequences, whereas ADV structural proteins could not be cleaved. Importantly, the NS1 products could be identified in ADV-infected cells but were not present in infected cells pretreated with caspase inhibitors. By mutating putative caspase cleavage sites (D to E), we mapped the two cleavage sites to amino acid residues NS1:227 (INTD↓S) and NS1:285 (DQTD↓S). Replication of ADV containing either of these mutations was reduced 103- to 104-fold compared to that of wild-type virus, and a construct containing both mutations was replication defective. Immunofluorescent studies revealed that cleavage was required for nuclear localization of NS1. The requirement for caspase activity during permissive replication suggests that limitation of caspase activation and apoptosis in vivo may be a novel approach to restricting virus replication.
A Theory of Firm Decline

We study the problem of an investor that buys an equity stake in an entrepreneurial venture, under the assumption that the former cannot monitor the latter’s operations. The dynamics implied by the optimal incentive scheme is rich and quite different from that induced by other models of repeated moral hazard. In particular, our framework generates a rationale for firm decline. As young firms accumulate capital, the claims of both investor (outside equity) and entrepreneur (inside equity) increase. At some juncture, however, even as the latter keeps on growing, invested capital and firm value start declining and so does the value of outside equity. The reason is that incentive provision is costlier the wealthier the entrepreneur (the greater is inside equity). In turn, this leads to a decline in the constrained–efficient level of effort and therefore to a drop in the return to investment.
Non-genetic transmission of memes by diffusion

In recent years, there has been an increase in research activities on Memetic Algorithm (MA). MA works with memes; a meme being defined as "the basic unit of cultural transmission, or imitation" [5]. In this respect, a Memetic Algorithm essentially refers to "an algorithm that mimics the mechanisms of cultural evolution". To date, there has been significant effort in bringing MA closer to the idea of cultural evolution. In this paper we assess MAs from the perspectives of "Universal Darwinism" and "Memetics". Subsequently, we propose a Diffusion Memetic Algorithm where the memetic material is transmitted by means of non-genetic transfer. Numerical studies are presented based on some of the commonly used synthetic problems in continuous optimization.
Effect on Insulin, Glucose and Lipids in Overweight/Obese Australian Adults of 12 Months Consumption of Two Different Fibre Supplements in a Randomised Trial

Higher fibre intakes are associated with risk reduction for chronic diseases. This study investigated the effects of supplementation with PolyGlycopleX® (PGX), a complexed polysaccharide, on insulin, glucose and lipids in overweight and obese individuals. In this double-blind 12 months study, participants were randomised into three groups: control (rice flour); PGX or psyllium (PSY). Participants followed their usual lifestyle and diet but consumed 5 g of their supplement before meals. Insulin was significantly lower in the PGX and PSY groups compared to control at 3 and 6 months and in the PSY group compared to control at 12 months. Serum glucose was significantly lower in the PGX group at 3 months compared to control. Total cholesterol was significantly lower in the PGX and PSY groups compared to control at 3 and 6 months. High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was significantly increased in the PGX group compared to control at 12 months. low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was significantly lower in the PGX group at 3 and 6 months compared to control and in the PSY group at 3 months compared to control. A simple strategy of fibre supplementation may offer an effective solution to glucose, insulin and lipid management without the need for other nutrient modification.
Cross-Genome Clustering of Human and C. elegans G-Protein Coupled Receptors

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are one of the largest groups of membrane proteins and are popular drug targets. The work reported here attempts to perform cross-genome phylogeny on GPCRs from two widely different taxa, human versus C. elegans genomes and to address the issues on evolutionary plasticity, to identify functionally related genes, orthologous relationship, and ligand binding properties through effective bioinformatic approaches. Through RPS blast around 1106 nematode GPCRs were given chance to associate with previously established 8 types of human GPCR profiles at varying E-value thresholds and resulted 32 clusters were illustrating co-clustering and class-specific retainsionship. In the significant thresholds, 81% of the C. elegans GPCRs were associated with 32 clusters and 27 C. elegans GPCRs (2%) inferred for orthology. 177 hypothetical proteins were observed in cluster association and could be reliably associated with one of 32 clusters. Several nematode-specific GPCR clades were observed suggesting lineage-specific functional recruitment in response to environment.