Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring vocation following brain injury: a qualitative enquiry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the transition to community life, in relation to vocational goals and aspirations, for 18 people with traumatic brain injury following the discharge from a neurological rehabilitation hospital.Design/methodology/approach – The study was a longitudinal qualitative study, framed within interpretivism. A phenomenological approach was employed. Participants, their significant other, and members of the rehabilitation team involved in their care were interviewed at the time of discharge from the ward, after six months and one year following discharge from the ward.Findings – Themes which emerged from the data gave insights into the meaning and value of vocational occupations, impact of rehabilitation, insight and awareness, environmental influences, alteration to the life‐course and moving forward to a new life. Throughout, issues of identity and reconstruction were identified.Practical implications – Use of alternative paradigms to the traditional medical viewp.
ERP Responses to Smile-Provoking Pictures

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to search for event-related potential (ERP) correlates of processing pictures commonly described as “funny” but not preceded by the apparent “context-setting” phase. Three pairs of stimuli were used: (1) famous cartoon characters and images of household objects, (2) pictures reminiscent of a recently seen joke and similar pictures that did not produce such associations, (3) funny caricatures and drawings of neutral human faces. ERP differences in each pair were analyzed in two experiments. In the first experiment, both stimuli were targets in an “oddball” procedure, presented among the more frequent green disks. In the second experiment, they were both nontargets whereas the green disks were task-relevant. Both experiments and all pairs of stimuli produced similar results. ERPs for funny pictures were consistently more positive within the broad latency windows, resembling the effects of emotional arousal. Negative deflections, typical for incongruity processing, .
Intelligent Microwave Detection of Surface and Sub-Surface Anomalies

Microwave near-field testing is a promising nondestructive testing method because of its unique capability to interrogate metallic surfaces and multi-layer dielectric structures. Due to today’s need for lighter, stronger, and more-durable materials, enhanced dielectrics are increasingly being used to replace or coat metals. Consequently, conventional testing methods, with their limited penetration, are no longer adequate, but microwave testing sensors transmit signals that can penetrate into dielectrics and so detect surface and subsurface anomalies. Due to the growing use of microwave near-field sensors for different daily life applications, there is an ongoing need to improve their performance. Recently, artificial engineered electromagnetic materials (metamaterials) have been utilized to demonstrate strong localization and enhancement of electrical fields around sensing elements in order to improve probes sensitivities. Metamaterials are being used to enhance sensors design at the hardware level for better anomaly and flaw detection. Currently, microwave sensors are being used to capture large and complex information, but doing so requires better integration of signal processing methods. Implementing artificial intelligence algorithms to process information collected by microwave sensors can address the challenge associated with information complexity or obscure pattern changes. To address this gap in microwave near-field evaluation, this study integrates machine learning techniques with microwave near-field testing. Machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence that denotes a set of methods that can automatically detect patterns in data to build a learning model. The learned model is then used for decision making about unseen data. Employing machine learning techniques for building classification models, this work combines machine learning algorithms with microwave near-field testing. In particular, it aims to build machine learning models that enhance flaw and anomaly detection in microwave near-field testing. The trained machine models can be integrated or embedded in a portable device or rack mounted microwave near-field testing equipment. The value of this approach is confirmed through numerical simulations and laboratory measurements. vi
REVIEW OF THE MEASUREMENT OF SEMANTIC SATIATION

Studies which have used various measures of meaningfulness to measure semantic satiation, and in other ways have attempted to test the effects of semantic satiation, are critically evaluated. It is concluded that the effects of the phenomenon labeled as semantic satiation have not been reliably measured and are in doubt. An attempt is made to link semantic satiation to what has been called the verbal transformation effect, and an alternative approach to the study of semantic satiation is suggested.
I'll take the low road: the evolutionary underpinnings of visually triggered fear

Although there is general agreement that the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) is critical for triggering the neuroendocrine response to visual threats, there is uncertainty about the role of subcortical visual pathways in this process. Primates in general appear to depend less on subcortical visual pathways than other mammals. Yet, imaging studies continue to indicate a role for the superior colliculus and pulvinar nucleus in fear activation, despite disconnects in how these brain structures communicate not only with each other but with the amygdala. Studies in fish and amphibians suggest that the neuroendocrine response to visual threats has remained relatively unchanged for hundreds of millions of years, yet there are still significant data gaps with respect to how visual information is relayed to telencephalic areas homologous to the CeA, particularly in fish. In fact ray finned fishes may have evolved an entirely different mechanism for relaying visual information to the telencephalon. In part because they lack a pathway homologous to the lateral geniculate-striate cortex pathway of mammals, amphibians continue to be an excellent model for studying how stress hormones in turn modulate fear activating visual pathways. Glucocorticoids, melanocortin peptides, and CRF all appear to play some role in modulating sensorimotor processing in the optic tectum. These observations, coupled with data showing control of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis by the superior colliculus, suggest a fear/stress/anxiety neuroendocrine circuit that begins with first order synapses in subcortical visual pathways. Thus, comparative studies shed light not only on how fear triggering visual pathways came to be, but how hormones released as a result of this activation modulate these pathways.
Mutational Analysis of the Superantigen Staphylococcal Exfoliative Toxin A (ETA)1

Exfoliative toxin A (ETA) is known to be a causative agent of staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS). Although relatively little is known about exactly how the exfoliative toxins (ETs) cause SSSS, much has been discovered recently that may help elucidate the mechanism(s) by which ETA exhibits activities such as lymphocyte mitogenicity and epidermolytic activity. Here, we have shown that highly purified ETA does have T lymphocyte mitogenic activity in that wild-type ETA induced T cell proliferation whereas several single amino acid mutants lacked significant activity. Neither wild-type ETA nor any single amino acid mutants were proteolytic for a casein substrate, yet esterase activity was detected in wild-type ETA and several mutants, but eliminated in other mutants. A mutation in aa 164 (Asp to Ala) showed a 9-fold increase in esterase activity as well. Finally, we correlated esterase activity with epidermolytic activity. All mutants that lost esterase activity also lost epidermolytic activity. Conversely, mutants that retained esterase activity also retained exfoliative activity, implicating serine protease or serine protease-like activity in the causation of SSSS. Moreover, the mutants that displayed markedly reduced T cell superantigenic activity retained their epidermolytic activity (although some of these mutants required higher doses of toxin to cause disease), which suggests an ancillary role for this activity in SSSS causation.
When Involvement Becomes “Busyness”

aBOUt campUs / nOvemBer–DecemBer 2010 like many of my colleagues in higher education, I have long maintained that our work is primarily about forging personal connections within our campus communities by engaging students in a variety of learning activities. consistent with the philosophical perspectives articulated in such influential american college personnel association (acpa) documents as The Student Learning Imperative and Learning Reconsidered, I have fervently believed that learning must be broadly conceived to include an array of cognitive, social, and emotional outcomes, and that the process of learning by its nature demands human interaction and active participation by the learner. Implicitly, I suppose I’ve also assumed that more activity and more interaction would invariably lead to more learning, but lately I’m not so sure about this last part. Interestingly, the catalyst for this little crisis of faith was my involvement in a study of the religious, spiritual, and philosophical lives of today’s undergraduate students. to put this new realization in context, I should emphasize that the roots of involvement theory run deep in my thinking about higher education. my earliest introduction to its basic principles came in the summer of 1978, as I prepared to leave for college for the first time. I was a shy teenager and was looking ahead to my big adventure with more than a little anxiety. perhaps sensing my uneasiness, my dear aunt Julie, who was the only member of either of my parents’ immediate families to graduate from college, offered me some advice. What she recommended was that I participate in every activity on the orientation schedule, with the idea being that I would simply not have time to feel homesick. What she said made sense to me, and I had no good reason not to follow her advice, so I decided to give it a try. What I found was that my active participation in the week’s activities not only kept me from feeling lonely, but also in fact enabled me to develop a sense of belonging within my new community. this feeling of connection persisted through the next four years and was instrumental in making college a transformative experience for me. later, as a graduate student, I would be introduced to alexander astin’s work on student When Involvement Becomes “Busyness” By Joseph L. Murray When is our quest for student engagement simply too much?
Characterization of a multiple antibiotic resistance plasmid from Haemophilus ducreyi

Plasmid pLS88 from a clinical isolate of Haemophilus ducreyi encoded resistance determinants for sulfonamides and streptomycin related to those of RSF1010 and for kanamycin related to Tn903 but lacked the inverted repeats of the transposon. Its host range included Haemophilus influenzae, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, and Escherichia coli; and it was compatible with pDM2 and RSF1010.
A randomized, double-blind comparison of single-tablet regimen elvitegravir/cobicistat/emtricitabine/tenofovir DF vs ritonavir-boosted atazanavir plus emtricitabine/tenofovir DF for initial treatment of HIV-1 infection: analysis of week 144 results.

study to evaluate the effect of dolutegravir on renal function via measurement of iohexol and para-aminohippurate clearance in healthy subjects. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2013;75:990–996. 10. Janssen Therapeutics. Edurant (rilpivirine) US prescribing information. Available at: http:// www.edurant. com/sites/default/files/EDURANTPI.pdf. Accessed August 1, 2013. 11. Lepist EI, Murray B, Tong L, et al. Effect of cobicistat and ritonavir on proximal renal tubular cell uptake and efflux transporters [abstract A1-1724]. Paper presented at: 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy; September 17– 20, 2011; Chicago, IL.
Research on Dynamic Modeling of Multi-body Dynamics Simulation Based on Inheritance and Transformation

Multi-body simulation modeling is very important in simulation and optimization of products. Considering the problem of rapid modeling in multi-body simulation, the method of dynamic modeling based on inheriting and transforming is presented. For inheriting the dynamic constraint information of the multi-body simulation model, topological configuration of the multi-body simulation model is built, and simplified constraint form is put forward with the topological mapping of the multi-body simulation model in the heterogeneous systems. To transform the information of the multi-body simulation model, the offset matrix that transformed the location and orientation of constraints and the matrix that transformed the location and orientation of parts are computed. It turns out that this method should be effective very much on analysis and optimization of low-voltage circuit breaker as a multi-body system in dynamic simulation.
Concepts, Categories, and Psychological Science

Why are psychologists not often vailed on for their expertise in connection with the larger problems of society? The nature of expertise is analyzed in the framework of a theory of concept formation and categorization. Expert-novice differences in approaches to problems, and. more generally, the nature of abstraction and judgment, are interpreted in terms of cognitive processes that operate by computations on an instance-based composite memory. Applied to “growing pains” of psychological science, the theory has implications for graduate training and the direction of research support.
Common Polymorphisms in ERCC 2 ( Xeroderma pigmentosum D ) are not Associated with Breast Cancer Risk

A substantial proportion of the familial risk of breast cancer may be due to genetic variants, each contributing a small effect. The protein encoded by ERCC2 is a key enzyme involved in nucleotide excision repair, in which gene defects could lead to cancer prone syndromes such as Xeroderma pigmentosum D. We have examined the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms in the ERCC2 gene and the incidence of invasive breast cancer in three case-control series, with a maximum of 3,634 patients and of 3,340 controls. None of the three single nucleotide polymorphisms were significantly associated with the incidence of breast cancer. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2005;14(7):1828–31)
A Variational Approach for Image Decolorization by Variance Maximization

Color-to-grayscale conversion is the process used to convert a color image to a grayscale one, which is a basic tool in digital printing, photograph rendering, and single-channel image processing. The main aim of this paper is to propose a variational approach for image decolorization by variance maximization. Our idea is to use an energy functional to determine local transformations for combining red, green, and blue channel pixel values together by maximizing the local variance of the output grayscale image and preserving the brightness of the input color image. In order to minimize the differences among the local transformations at nearby pixel locations, the total variation regularization of the transformation is incorporated into the functional for the decolorization process. The existence and uniqueness of the minimizer of the variational model can be shown. We also present an effective algorithm for solving the variational model numerically, and show the convergence of the algorithm. Experimental r.
Attachment dimensions in adolescence: an adaptation of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) into Basque / Dimensiones del apego en la adolescencia: adaptación al euskera del Inventario de Apego de Progenitores y Pares (IPPA)

Abstract The aim of this study was to develop a short Basque version of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), as well as to test its factor structure and analyse other psychometric properties. Two studies were carried out. In the first study a confirmatory factor analysis conducted on a sample of 1037 adolescents did not show an optimal model fit of the three-dimensional structure of the original instrument. A subsequent analysis of principal components revealed a one-dimensional structure. The analysis of items led to the elaboration of short forms. In the second study, carried out on another sample of 2129 adolescents, the one-dimensional structure was confirmed, further external validity evidence was provided, and good reliability indices were obtained. A single dimension is concluded, attachment security, as well as the validity and reliability of the short forms of the IPPA in Basque scales.
Perceived Parental Acculturation Behaviors and Control as Predictors of Subjective Well-Being in Arab American College Students

This article reports the relations of the well-being of college students whose parents immigrated to America from Arab countries with their perceptions of their parents'(a) acculturation behaviors (i.e., openness to the American culture and preservation of the Arab culture) and (b) control. Results indicate that the perceived acculturation behaviors interacted with perceived parental control to predict students' subjective well-being. An expected positive association between parental openness to American culture and students' well-being is attenuated among students with autonomy-granting (low-control) parents. Conversely, a positive association between parental preservation of the Arabic culture and well-being is stronger among students with autonomy-granting parents.
Predicting adoption of home smoking restriction by inner-city black smokers.

OBJECTIVE To identify predictors of future adoption of home smoking restriction (HSR), given that 40% of inner-city smokers report current HSR. DESIGN Secondary analysis of data on smokers enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of bupropion hydrochloride for smoking cessation. SETTING Community health center in Kansas City, Kan, from August 1, 2000, to December 31, 2001. PARTICIPANTS Six hundred eligible black smokers, at least 18 years old, who smoked at least 10 cigarettes per day and were interested in quitting within the next 30 days. Enrollment was limited to 1 smoker per household. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Adoption of HSR by 6 months by those who did not have it at baseline. Result Baseline HSR was reported by 36% of all smokers. Of 383 smokers without baseline HSR, 311 smokers had complete baseline and 6-month data. Thirty-seven percent of households without HSR at baseline had adopted HSR by 6 months. Adoption was associated with a nonsmoking adult or children in the home, progress in stage of change, and smoking cessation. Odds of adopting HSR increased with progress in stage of change (odds ratio [OR], 4.20), baseline preparatory stage of change (OR, 3.28), and having a nonsmoking partner (OR, 2.35) or children (OR, 1.75) in the home. CONCLUSIONS A smoker's motivation to quit and the presence in the home of a nonsmoking adult or of children predict adoption of HSR by inner-city black smokers. Therefore, health professionals should motivate the smoker toward HSR and the nonsmoking partner toward advocating home smoking bans, thereby eliminating environmental tobacco smoke in the home.
The Computational Complexity of NK Fitness Functions

N-K fitness landscapes have been widely used as examples and test functions in the field of evolutionary computation. Thus, the computational complexity of these landscapes as optimization problems is of interest. We investigate the computational complexity of the problem of optimizing the N-K fitness functions and related fitness functions. We give an algorithm to optimize adjacent-model N-K fitness functions which is polynomial in N . We show that the decision problem corresponding to optimizing random-model N-K fitness functions is NP-complete for K > 1 and is polynomial for K = 1. If the restriction that the ith component function depends on the ith bit is removed, then the problem is NP-complete even for K = 1. We also give a polynomial-time approximation algorithm for the arbitrary-model N-K optimization problem.
Digital PCR.

The identification of predefined mutations expected to be present in a minor fraction of a cell population is important for a variety of basic research and clinical applications. Here, we describe an approach for transforming the exponential, analog nature of the PCR into a linear, digital signal suitable for this purpose. Single molecules are isolated by dilution and individually amplified by PCR; each product is then analyzed separately for the presence of mutations by using fluorescent probes. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated through the detection of a mutant ras oncogene in the stool of patients with colorectal cancer. The process provides a reliable and quantitative measure of the proportion of variant sequences within a DNA sample.
Microsphere-Based Scaffolds Carrying Opposing Gradients of Chondroitin Sulfate and Tricalcium Phosphate

Extracellular matrix (ECM) components, such as chondroitin sulfate (CS) and tricalcium phosphate, serve as raw materials, and thus spatial patterning of these raw materials may be leveraged to mimic the smooth transition of physical, chemical, and mechanical properties at the bone-cartilage interface. We hypothesized that encapsulation of opposing gradients of these raw materials in high molecular weight poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microsphere-based scaffolds would enhance differentiation of rat bone marrow–derived stromal cells. The raw material encapsulation altered the microstructure of the microspheres and also influenced the cellular morphology that depended on the type of material encapsulated. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the raw material encapsulating microsphere-based scaffolds initially relied on the composition of the scaffolds and later on were primarily governed by the degradation of the polymer phase and newly synthesized ECM by the seeded cells. Furthermore, raw materials had a mitogenic effect on the seeded cells and led to increased glycosaminoglycan (GAG), collagen, and calcium content. Interestingly, the initial effects of raw material encapsulation on a per-cell basis might have been overshadowed by medium-regulated environment that appeared to favor osteogenesis. However, it is to be noted that in vivo, differentiation of the cells would be governed by the surrounding native environment. Thus, the results of this study demonstrated the potential of the raw materials in facilitating neo-tissue synthesis in microsphere-based scaffolds and perhaps in combination with bioactive signals, these raw materials may be able to achieve intricate cell differentiation profiles required for regenerating the osteochondral interface.
Advance reservation and co-allocation protocol for grid computing

This paper specifies an advance reservation and co-allocation protocol for grid computing, and a simple framework for supporting well defined charging models. The protocol supports arbitrary level of nesting, that is a reservation may be to a virtual resource (a set of resources). The work is motivated by the need for advance reservation in the RealityGrid project. However the protocol is a generic protocol that can reserve any type of resource (e.g. clusters, network, and storage) and for any grid project where users need to reserve one or more resources in advance