Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Populism: Some Conceptual Problems

With Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe, Cas Mudde (2007) may have written a true classic in political science. He combines a clear and coherent conceptual framework with a broad and critical survey of the literature in four languages – few significant titles will have escaped his attention – and a thorough understanding of the political systems of both Western and Eastern Europe. This is a rare combination indeed. Moreover, he writes in a clear and transparent style, and sine ira et studio. Obviously, here is a political scientist who honours and loves his trade!
Application of Support Vector Machine for Prediction of Medication Adherence in Heart Failure Patients

Objectives Heart failure (HF) is a progressive syndrome that marks the end-stage of heart diseases, and it has a high mortality rate and significant cost burden. In particular, non-adherence of medication in HF patients may result in serious consequences such as hospital readmission and death. This study aims to identify predictors of medication adherence in HF patients. In this work, we applied a Support Vector Machine (SVM), a machine-learning method useful for data classification. Methods Data about medication adherence were collected from patients at a university hospital through self-reported questionnaire. The data included 11 variables of 76 patients with HF. Mathematical simulations were conducted in order to develop a SVM model for the identification of variables that would best predict medication adherence. To evaluate the robustness of the estimates made with the SVM models, leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) was conducted on the data set. Results The two models that best classified medication adherence in the HF patients were: one with five predictors (gender, daily frequency of medication, medication knowledge, New York Heart Association [NYHA] functional class, spouse) and the other with seven predictors (age, education, monthly income, ejection fraction, Mini-Mental Status Examination-Korean [MMSE-K], medication knowledge, NYHA functional class). The highest detection accuracy was 77.63%. Conclusions SVM modeling is a promising classification approach for predicting medication adherence in HF patients. This predictive model helps stratify the patients so that evidence-based decisions can be made and patients managed appropriately. Further, this approach should be further explored in other complex diseases using other common variables.
Fast distributed coordinate descent for non-strongly convex losses

We propose an efficient distributed randomized coordinate descent method for minimizing regularized non-strongly convex loss functions. The method attains the optimal O(1/k2) convergence rate, where k is the iteration counter. The core of the work is the theoretical study of stepsize parameters. We have implemented the method on Archer - the largest super-computer in the UK-and show that the method is capable of solving a (synthetic) LASSO optimization problem with 50 billion variables.
Osteoporosis Improvement: A Large‐Scale Randomized Controlled Trial of Patient and Primary Care Physician Education

We conducted a randomized controlled trial within the setting of a large drug benefit plan for Medicare beneficiaries. Primary care physicians and their patients were randomized to usual care, patient intervention only, physician intervention only, or both interventions. There was no difference in the probability of the primary composite endpoint (BMD test or osteoporosis medication) or in either of its components comparing the combined intervention group with usual care (risk ratio = 1.04; 95% CI, 0.85–1.26).
Examining White Counselor Trainees’ Reactions to Racial Issues in Counseling and Supervision Dyads

This study examined the reactions of White counselor trainees to hypothetical, provocative, cross-racial counseling and supervision dyads. It employed a qualitative methodology of inquiry to explore the underlying dynamics associated with cross-racial counseling and supervision dyads. Working with a sample of 8 White male and female counselor trainees, a focus group interview was conducted using vignettes that depicted racial issues in counseling and supervision situations. The focus group interview was transcribed, and themes and categories that captured the complexity of the trainees’ reactions to racially charged situations in counseling and supervision were identified. The implications of the study’s findings are discussed and direction is offered for future research in this area.
Effect of Shear Applied During a Pharmaceutical Process on Near Infrared Spectra

This study describes changes observed in the near-infrared (NIR) diffuse reflectance (DR) spectra of pharmaceutical tablets after these tablets were subjected to different levels of strain (exposure to shear) during the mixing process. Powder shearing is important in the mixing of powders that are cohesive. Shear stress is created in a system by moving one surface over another causing displacements in the direction of the moving surface and is part of the mixing dynamics of particulates in many industries including the pharmaceutical industry. In continuous mixing, shear strain is developed within the process when powder particles are in constant movement and can affect the quality attributes of the final product such as dissolution. These changes in the NIR spectra could affect results obtained from NIR calibration models. The aim of the study was to understand changes in the NIR diffuse reflectance spectra that can be associated with different levels of strain developed during blend shearing of laboratory samples. Shear was applied using a Couette cell and tablets were produced using a tablet press emulator. Tablets with different shear levels were measured using NIR spectroscopy in the diffuse reflectance mode. The NIR spectra were baseline corrected to maintain the scattering effect associated with the physical properties of the tablet surface. Principal component analysis was used to establish the principal sources of variation within the samples. The angular dependence of elastic light scattering shows that the shear treatment reduces the size of particles and produces their uniform and highly isotropic distribution. Tablet compaction further reduces the diffuse component of scattering due to realignment of particles.
User Features and Social Networks for Topic Modeling in Online Social Media

In recent years, social media websites, such as Epinions, Twitter, and Google+, have gained in popularity and have become ubiquitous in our daily lives, where rich user-generated texts are propagated through social networks. Topic models, such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), have been proposed and shown to be useful for text analysis. The existing topic models focus on traditional document collections, which consist of a relatively small number of long and high-quality documents. However, user-generated texts tend to be shorter and noisier than traditional content. Besides, the social networks have two novel features: context information on nodes, such as user features, and edges, such as relationship, which have not been considered by the existing topic models. In this paper, we pose the problem of finding user topics in large-scale collection of documents from online social networks. We propose a comprehensive Feature based and a Social based Topic model, taking into account the user features and social networks. We demonstrate that our models have better performance than a baseline LDA in the Epinions, Twitter, and Google+ data sets.
Dealing with missing predictor values when applying clinical prediction models.

BACKGROUND Prediction models combine patient characteristics and test results to predict the presence of a disease or the occurrence of an event in the future. In the event that test results (predictor) are unavailable, a strategy is needed to help users applying a prediction model to deal with such missing values. We evaluated 6 strategies to deal with missing values. METHODS We developed and validated (in 1295 and 532 primary care patients, respectively) a prediction model to predict the risk of deep venous thrombosis. In an application set (259 patients), we mimicked 3 situations in which (1) an important predictor (D-dimer test), (2) a weaker predictor (difference in calf circumference), and (3) both predictors simultaneously were missing. The 6 strategies to deal with missing values were (1) ignoring the predictor, (2) overall mean imputation, (3) subgroup mean imputation, (4) multiple imputation, (5) applying a submodel including only the observed predictors as derived from the development set, or (6) the "one-step-sweep" method. We compared the model's discriminative ability (expressed by the ROC area) with the true ROC area (no missing values) and the model's estimated calibration slope and intercept with the ideal values of 1 and 0, respectively. RESULTS Ignoring the predictor led to the worst and multiple imputation to the best discrimination. Multiple imputation led to calibration intercepts closest to the true value. The effect of the strategies on the slope differed between the 3 scenarios. CONCLUSIONS Multiple imputation is preferred if a predictor value is missing.
The effectiveness of controlled interventions on employees’ burnout: A meta-analysis

The aim of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of controlled interventions on reducing employees’ burnout. Peer-reviewed published papers included in online databases, as well as papers identified in previous reviews, were considered for selection into the meta-analysis. Keywords entered were burnout and intervention, exhaustion and intervention, cynicism and intervention, and depersonalization and intervention. Inclusion criteria for the studies were (1) to include a burnout measure as a primary or a secondary outcome; (2) to include a comparison control group; and (3) available/sufficient data to calculate the d Cohen effect sizes. Using a random-effects model, we found small overall effect sizes for general level of burnout (d = .22, p .05, k = 31, overall N control = 895, overall N intervention = 888) and personal accomplishment (d = −.02, p > .05, k = 29, overall N control = 806, overall N intervention = 817). Similar effects were also found at follow-up, suggesting modest but lasting effects of interventions in reducing burnout. Yet, new more tailored strategies to reduce burnout are needed to improve the effects of the interventions. Practitioner points Cognitive-behavioural interventions and interventions based on relaxation techniques are effective only for reducing emotional exhaustion. New types of interventions are needed, to address depersonalization and personal accomplishment. The effects on emotional exhaustion are significant even at more than 6 months after the end of the intervention.
Lock-based protocols for cooperation on XML documents

The extensible Markup Language (XML) is well accepted in several different Web application areas. As soon as many users and applications work concurrently on the same collection of XML documents - e.g. on an XML database via a Web interface - isolating accesses and modifications of different transactions becomes an important issue. We discuss four different core protocols for synchronizing access to and modifications of XML document collections. These core protocols synchronize structure traversals and modifications. They are meant to be integrated into native XML base management System (XBMS) and are based on two phase locking. We also demonstrate the different degrees of cooperation that are possible with these protocols.
Effects of Correctional Boot Camps on Offending

A systematic review incorporating meta-analytic techniques of correctional boot camps studies was conducted. An intensive search identified 771 documents of which 144 were deemed potentially relevant, located, and evaluated for eligibility. In 37 documents, 29 studies were judged eligible for inclusion in the systematic review. The 29 studies resulted in 44 samples providing the primary unit of analysis. Quasi-experimental and experimental studies evaluated a residential program with a militaristic environment and compared the recidivism of participants to a comparison group receiving another correctional sanction. In 9 studies, boot camp participants had lower recidivism than did comparison groups; in 8, comparison groups had lower recidivism; and in the remaining studies, no significant differences were found. A meta-analysis found no overall significant differences in recidivism between boot camp participants and comparison samples. Further analyses indicated the results cannot be explained by differences in study methodology, offender characteristics, or boot camp program components.
The Use of Sentence Final Particles in Cantonese-Speakers With Aphasia

Aphasiology refers to the study of loss or impairment in language among brain injured patients. The use of SFP (sentence final particles) among Chinese speakers with aphasia is particularly vulnerable. This study aims to systematically investigate the use of SFP in a picture description task among 21 native Cantonese speakers with aphasia and 21 controls. It was found that speakers with aphasia generally used significantly fewer SFP than their normal counterparts. Specifically, subjects in the aphasic group, as compared to controls, tended to produce fewer SFP that indicated time or focus of the speech but more SFP that helped expression of stress or emotional feelings.
Promoting Systems Thinking through Biology Lessons

This study’s goal was to analyze various teaching approaches within the context of natural science lessons, especially in biology. The main focus of the paper lies on the effectiveness of different teaching methods in promoting systems thinking in the field of Education for Sustainable Development. The following methods were incorporated into the study: special lessons designed to promote systems thinking, a computer‐simulated scenario on the topic “ecosystem forest,” and a combination of both special lessons and the computer simulation. These groups were then compared to a control group. A questionnaire was used to assess systems thinking skills of 424 sixth‐grade students of secondary schools in Germany. The assessment differentiated between a conceptual understanding (measured as achievement score) and a reflexive justification (measured as justification score) of systems thinking. The following control variables were used: logical thinking, grades in school, memory span, and motivational goal orientation. Based on the pretest–posttest control group design, only those students who received both special instruction and worked with the computer simulation showed a significant increase in their achievement scores. The justification score increased in the computer simulation condition as well as in the combination of computer simulation and lesson condition. The possibilities and limits of promoting various forms of systems thinking by using realistic computer simulations are discussed.
The protection of children exposed to marital violence

A review of the available research shows that children who witness violence between their parents have emotional and behavioural difficulties that mirror those of children currently identified as being abused. It is not clear whether these difficulties stem from the violence itself or the insecurity common in such families. However, current understanding of the experience of trauma suggests that some of these children are traumatized by the scenes they witness. Thus they fulfil the criteria for suffering from ‘significant harm’, within the guidelines of the Children Act. Current models of intervention in other areas of identified abuse could be applied to these children, offering adequate protection from further harm.
A study on the effects of advertisement on brand equity: Evidence from mobile industry

This paper presents an empirical investigation to study the effects of advertisement on brand equity. The study has accomplished on two well-known brands in mobile providers in city of Tehran, Iran. The study uses Aaker’s model to examine the effects of advertisement on various factors such as brand awareness, quality perception, brand loyalty and brand associate. The study also investigates the effects of brand awareness, quality perception and brand associate on brand loyalty. The results of our survey have concluded that advertisement could influence on some of the components of brand equity, significantly. For the first case study of this survey, Irancell, advertisement influences on brand awareness, brand quality and brand associate, significantly. In addition, brand awareness and brand loyalty also influence on brand quality and brand equity, positively. For the second case study of this survey, Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran, the effects of advertisement on brand equity, brand awareness and brand associate have been confirmed. Moreover, brand awareness and brand quality influence on brand loyalty, positively. In addition, brand loyalty influences positively on brand equity.
Tailoring safer sex messages to lower-educated young gay men: the impact on cognitions and intention

In order to test whether simplifying information about HIV risk or tailoring arguments that are meant to promote the use of condoms would enhance the effects of safer sex messages on men of lower education, we conducted an experimental study. We recruited 51 lower-educated young Dutch gay men (i.e., men who stopped their training after they had completed general education or lower vocational training). We randomly assigned these men to read a safer sex brochure that is widely distributed among gay men in The Netherlands (the ‘standard message’) or one of three alternative versions. In the alternative messages we (1) reduced the complexity of the information about HIV risk, (2) obtained a closer match between the arguments that are meant to promote the use of condoms and the salient beliefs about safer sex in men of lower SES (among others we gave information about how to cope with situations that these men find difficult to handle), or (3) manipulated both aspects of message content. After exposure to one of the messages, participants completed a self-administered questionnaire that tapped social cognitions about safer sex. We also included 106 higher-educated men in our experiment (i.e., men who had completed high school, college, applied arts and sciences education, or academic and theoretical education). This allowed us to test whether tailoring messages to lower-educated men would have negative effects on higher-educated men. The results showed that simplifying information about HIV risk did not affect knowledge levels. Exposing lower-educated participants to the tailored arguments promoting the use of condoms, however, enhanced these men's intention to engage in protected anal sex. This effect was associated with an increase in men's perception of behavioural control. No negative effects of the manipulations of messages were found in higher-educated participants.This study emphasizes the importance of addressing control issues that are relevant to men of lower SES in order to increase the effectiveness of messages in encouraging preventive action.
Quantification of T Wave Shape Changes Following Exercise

LANGLEY, P., et al.: Quantification of T Wave Shape Changes Following Exercise. T wave shape is increasingly used to provide insights into cardiac repolarization and, although shape is known to change as heart rate changes, there are no published quantitative clinical data. The aim of this study was to quantify these changes. Heart rate (HR), T wave amplitude, and two measures of T wave symmetry (SRarea—ratio of areas about the peak, SRtime—ratio of centrality of peak), were quantified over a period of 360 seconds following exercise in 20 healthy human subjects. As HR decreased, in all subjects the T wave became more asymmetrical (SRarea 20/20, SRtime 20/20, P < 0.0001). Resting reference HR and symmetry ratios were (mean ± SD), HR 63 ± 10 beat/min, SRarea 1.68 ± 0.25, and SRtime 2.13 ± 0.39. Fifty seconds postexercise, HR was significantly higher than reference at 92 ± 11 beat/min (P < 0.0001), and symmetry ratios were significantly less at SRarea 1.04 ± 0.15, SRtime 1.24 ± 0.36 (P < 0.0001). Significant differences in HR and both symmetry ratios remained at 300 seconds postexercise. Amplitude increases had returned to their reference values at 300 seconds. T wave shape was significantly more symmetrical at higher HRs. These findings confirm qualitative reports of shape changes.
Recent enhancements to the Blocks Database servers

The Blocks Database contains multiple alignments of conserved regions in protein families which can be searched by e-mail (blocks@blocks.fhcrc.org) and World Wide Web (http://blocks.fhcrc.org/ ) servers to classify protein and nucleotide sequences. Recent enhancements to the servers include: (i) improved calculation of position-specific scoring matrices from blocks; (ii) availability of the Prints protein fingerprint database for searching in Blocks format; (iii) a representative sequence biased towards the Blocks of a protein family; (iv) a tree constructed from the Blocks of a protein family; (v) links to related World Wide Web pages for a family; and (vi) the new Local Alignment of Multiple Alignments (LAMA) method to search a block against a database of blocks.
Examining Elementary Social Studies Marginalization

Utilizing data from the National Center for Education Statistics Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), a multilevel model (Hierarchical Linear Model) was developed to examine the association of teacher/classroom and state level indicators on reported elementary social studies instructional time. Findings indicated that state testing policy was a significant predictor of elementary teachers’ reported time spent on social studies instruction. Teachers’ perceptions of workplace autonomy and grade level were also associated with increased time on social studies. Conversely, teacher credentials, classroom socioeconomic contexts, and test design were not substantially associated with social studies instructional time. This study suggests that state policy mandates, grade-specific curricular organization, and teacher disposition have a substantial impact on the prioritization of social studies in US elementary schools.
Social opinion mining and concise rendition

To create a sentimental analysis tool for opinion mining of social media data. Information available from social networks is beneficial for analysis of user opinion, for example measuring the feedback on a recently released product, movie or a MOOC, policy change or ongoing events. Using Social network APIs, Python NLTK, automatic collection of a corpus for sentiment analysis and opinion mining purposes is done. Using the corpus we build a sentiment classifier based on Naive Bayes classification that is very accurate, that is able to determine positive, negative and objective sentiments for a document with specificity factor. We also summarize the given input content.
The comparison of sensorless estimation techniques for PMSM between extended Kalman filter and flux-linkage observer

This paper compares two main sensorless control techniques for permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM): flux-linkage observer (FLO) and extended Kalman filter (EKF). This paper investigates experimentally five aspects via FLO and EKF: the error of estimated position, speed response, variable speed tuning, the ability of speed zero crossing and convergence in the estimation for position transition in four-quadrants