Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dirac–Born–Infeld inflation using a one-parameter family of throat geometries

We demonstrate the possibility of examining cosmological signatures in the Dirac–Born–Infeld (DBI) inflation setup using the BGMPZ solution, a one-parameter family of geometries for the warped throat which interpolate between the Maldacena–Nuñez and Klebanov–Strassler solutions. The warp factor is determined numerically and is subsequently used to calculate cosmological observables, including the scalar and tensor spectral indices, for a sample point in the parameter space. As one moves away from the Klebanov–Strassler (KS) solution for the throat, the warp factor is qualitatively different, which leads to a significant change for the observables, but also generically increases the non-Gaussianity of the models. We argue that the different models can potentially be differentiated by current and future experiments.
Risk factors and mortality associated with undertriage at a level I safety-net trauma center: a retrospective study

Purpose The primary objective of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with undertriage and the risk factors for mortality among the undertriaged patients at a level I safety-net trauma center. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of all trauma patients who presented to a level I safety-net trauma center with an injury severity score >15 over a 2-year period (2013–2014). Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to determine the risk factors predictive of undertriage in major trauma patients (injury severity score >15) and of mortality in undertriaged patients. Results During the 2-year study period, 334 of 2,485 admitted trauma patients presented with major trauma and were included in our study. From the univariate analysis, variables that were found to be independently associated with mortality in undertriaged patients included intubation, Glasgow Coma Scale score, revised trauma score, and dementia. Independent risk factors that were found to be significantly associated with undertriage in severely injured trauma patients included Glasgow Coma Scale score, motor vehicle crash, falls, revised trauma score, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, intubation, and dementia. When a multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the statistically significant risk factors, dementia was found to be significantly associated with undertriage in severely injured trauma patients. Conclusion Severely injured trauma patients with dementia are at significant risk for undertriage. Early identification of these risk factors while triaging at a level I safety-net trauma center could translate into improved patient outcomes following severe trauma.
Assessing the Response of Terrestrial Ecosystems to Potential Changes in Precipitation

Abstract Changes in Earth's surface temperatures caused by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are expected to affect global and regional precipitation regimes. Interactions between changing precipitation regimes and other aspects of global change are likely to affect natural and managed terrestrial ecosystems as well as human society. Although much recent research has focused on assessing the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to rising carbon dioxide or temperature, relatively little research has focused on understanding how ecosystems respond to changes in precipitation regimes. Here we review predicted changes in global and regional precipitation regimes, outline the consequences of precipitation change for natural ecosystems and human activities, and discuss approaches to improving understanding of ecosystem responses to changing precipitation. Further, we introduce the Precipitation and Ecosystem Change Research Network (PrecipNet), a new interdisciplinary research network assembled to encourage and foster communication and collaboration across research groups with common interests in the impacts of global change on precipitation regimes, ecosystem structure and function, and the human enterprise.
Problems with Current Models of Grieving and Consequences for Older Persons.

Classical models of the grieving process include Freud's concept of withdrawal of ties to the love object called decathexis, and Lindemann's emancipation from the bondage to the deceased involving adjusting to the loss in one's environment and the ability to form new relationships. Most of the models and explanations or the grieving process over the past 20 years are derived from the work of Freud and Lindemann. Recent research has challenged previous work, finding that grief from major losses may never completely end, but that the bereaved learn to live with an "empty space" in their lives. These new conclusions affect the grieving process of older persons. Grief reactions such as confusion, depression, and preoccupation with thoughts of the deceased might be mistaken for other conditions that affect the elderly such as dementias or other forms of depression and deterioration. The elderly are more prone to tareavement overload or multiple losses which could push an older person over the line of unbearability. These social expectations can aggravate older persons' grief: (l) elderly people should show a "stiff upper lip" about their losses since they should expect losses; (2) society seems uncomfortable with strong outward displays of mourning; and (3) the mourning process is becoming "deritualized" with rituals becoming briefer, simpler, and more private--a trend that could reduce the solace and support that the elderly receive from such rituals. (ABL) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ********************************************************************** cs1 N. 41st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America LC% San Francisco, November 1988 LC% CD Problems with Current Models of Grieving and Conseo.uences for Older Persons
High fidelity content-centric experiments with Mini-CCNx

Experimentally-driven research is crucial to the evaluation of any networking technology. In this paper, we focus on research experiments with Mini-CCNx, a convenient yet high-fidelity prototyping tool to evaluate Information-Centric Networking (ICN) proposals that bring named pieces of content as the main element of networks. More specifically, Mini-CCNx is tailored for the Named Data Networking (NDN) model and fills an existing gap in generally available experimental platforms. Using container-based emulation and resource isolation techniques, Mini-CCNx appears as a flexible, scalable, high-fidelity, and low-cost tool in support of NDN research. To evaluate Mini-CCNx as a valid research platform, we first reproduce a series of experiments from the NDN literature. We then run routing experiments on an emulated version of the real NDN testbed and provide insights into open research topics such as behavior of the OSPFN routing protocol, forwarding strategies, and network resiliency.
Parent mental health as a mediator of contextual effects on parents with intellectual disabilities and their children

Background In the face of limited research addressing the impact of mental health on parents with intellectual disability and their children, this article explores associations between socioeconomic disadvantage, social support, parent mental health, parenting practices, and child well-being for families where a parent has intellectual disability. Methods Data were collected from 120 Australian parents with intellectual disability who were participants in an Australian effectiveness trial of two parent education programmes. A theoretical model of relationships between measures of socioeconomic disadvantage, parent mental health, parenting, social support, and child development was examined using structural equation modelling. Results Access to social support and parent mental health had a direct effect on self-reported parenting practices and the effect of socioeconomic disadvantage on parenting was mediated by parent mental health and social support. The influence of parent mental health on children was mediated by its effect on parenting practices. Conclusions Parent mental health and social support are factors that influence parenting behaviours among parents with intellectual disability. Understanding their influence on parents and children indicates a way ahead for parenting interventions aimed at promoting optimal child outcomes for these families.
Strategies for ARQ in 2×2 MIMO Systems

Packet retransmission strategies are presented for 2x2 MIMO spatial multiplexing systems. Antennas for retransmission are selected to maximize an approximation of the throughput of the system. A sign change or conjugate operation is allowed for retransmitted packets. The proposed scheme performs selection of retransmission antennas based on the CSI at the receiver: only 1 bit of feedback is additionally required, along with the acknowledgement bits. When 2 packets are decoded with errors, retransmission follows a space time block code structure, allowing a seamless switching between spatial multiplexing and space time block coding.
Proactive Scan: Fast Handoff with Smart Triggers for 802.11 Wireless LAN

It has been a challenging problem to support VoIP-type delay sensitive applications in an 802.11 wireless LAN, because the standard handoff procedure implemented in many current 802.11 products occurs a delay deem unacceptable to VoIP users. To reduce this delay, we have developed a fast handoff scheme called Proactive Scan. It employs two new techniques. The first is to decouple the time-consuming channel scan from the actual handoff, and to eliminate channel scan delay by doing scan early and interleaving it with ongoing traffic in a non-intrusive way. The second technique is a smart trigger that takes into account both uplink and downlink quality and explicitly addresses the link asymmetry which has yet not been touched in previous work. Through implementation and experimentation study, we have shown that Proactive Scan does provide fast handoff and satisfactory performance to VoIP applications. Further, it is a software-only client-only solution that any mobile device can use in any existing 802.11 networks.
Conditional Anomaly Detection Using Soft Harmonic Functions: An Application to Clinical Alerting

Timely detection of concerning events is an important problem in clinical practice. In this paper, we consider the problem of conditional anomaly detection that aims to identify data instances with an unusual response, such as the omission of an important lab test. We develop a new non-parametric approach for conditional anomaly detection based on the soft harmonic solution, with which we estimate the confidence of the label to detect anomalous mislabeling. We further regularize the solution to avoid the detection of isolated examples and examples on the boundary of the distribution support. We demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method in detecting unusual labels on a real-world electronic health record dataset and compare it to several baseline approaches.
Microstrip antenna with CSRR ground structure

A novel multi-band single feed microstrip antenna with metamaterial structure that satisfies WiMAX and WLAN applications is proposed in this paper. The conventional antenna consists of a rectangular microstrip patch at a frequency band of (4.9752 ∼ 5.1777) 5.08 GHz. By loading a complementary Split Ring Resonator (CSRR) at the ground plane, three frequency bands: 2.5113 ∼ 2.609, 2.9026 ∼ 3.2056, and 5.5406 ∼ 5.8773 are achieved. The operational bands covered by the antenna are WiMAX 2.5 GHz and WLAN 5.2/5.8 GHz. The application of CSRR to patch antenna has made it possible to design simple, compact, and miniaturized metamaterial antenna for wireless communication systems.
School Counselors and Secondary Exposure to Trauma: Exploring the Relationships Between Empathy, Self-efficacy, Burnout, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Compassion Satisfaction

Secondary exposure to trauma has been found to be related to increased burnout and secondary traumatic stress among professionals who work with clients who have experienced trauma (Bride, 2007; Brady, 2008; Peltzer, Matseke, & Louw, 2014; Shoji et al., 2015). Interpersonal factors such as self-efficacy and empathy may support those who experience secondary exposure to trauma by reducing burnout and secondary traumatic stress, and increasing compassion satisfaction (Shakespeare-Finch, Rees, & Armstrong, 2015; Wagaman, Geiger, Shockley, & Segal, 2015). School counselors have not been included in previous studies related to secondary exposure to trauma; however, their professional role in providing support to students in schools places them in direct contact with children and adolescents who have experienced traumatic events. This study investigated the relationships among secondary exposure to trauma, self-efficacy, empathy, and professional quality of life (i.e. burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction) for school counselors. A correlation analysis indicated that self-efficacy and empathy were both significantly correlated with burnout and compassion satisfaction. Self-efficacy and secondary exposure to trauma were both significantly correlated with secondary traumatic stress. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that self-efficacy and empathy were predictors of burnout and compassion satisfaction and self-efficacy and secondary exposure to trauma were predictors of secondary traumatic stress. Implications and recommendations for professional school counselors and school counselor educators are provided. INDEX WORDS: Secondary Exposure to Trauma, School Counselors, Self-efficacy, Empathy SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND SECONDARY EXPOSURE TO TRAUMA: EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMPATHY, SELF-EFFICACY, BURNOUT, SECONDARY TRAUMATIC STRESS, AND COMPASSION SATISFACTION
Factors Influencing Occupational Competence in Schizophrenia

Abstract Objective: To explore and compare the perception of productive activities (studies, work) held by young adults with schizophrenia and their therapists. Method: An exploratory qualitative study was carried out using the Model of Competence (Rousseau, 2003). Nine client-therapist dyads were recruited. Data collected were transcribed, coded, and processed with QSR.N'VIVO (2002). Results: Therapists and clients agree about the personal characteristics (e.g., motivation, coping) and activities (e.g., prior work or study experiences) that have positive (e.g., social skills) or negative influence (e.g., symptoms of schizophrenia) on competence in productive activities. Their perceptions differ about the environmental characteristics that influence competence: some elements are mentioned only by clients (e.g., work environment) or therapists (e.g., using community resources). Conclusion: The framework offered by a specialized clinic can promote exchanges and the congruence of perceptions between therapists and clients. Interventions focusing on the environment should be further developed in relation to productive activities.
Initial studies of PET-SPECT dual-tracer imaging

Simultaneous PET and SPECT dual-tracer imaging with common detector and bed will potentially open the door for many new clinical and preclinical applications, such as two receptor binding studies or perfusion-metabolism differential imaging of neurodegenerative diseases, and can be technically advantageous in certain aspects compared to conventional SPECT dual-tracer or PET dual-tracer imaging. In this feasibility study, PET and SPECT data from concurrently existing Tc-99m and F-18 radiotracers were acquired with the same acquisition hardware setup: a microPET and a collimator inside the gantry. The collimator is a slit-slat type, consists of knife-edge slits formed by Lead plates and septa formed by annular Tungsten sheets to form 2D fan beam geometry. SPECT data were acquired in list-mode with 135-145 keV energy window. With the collimator stayed inside the gantry, PET data were acquired and processed to correct collimator effects. A hot-rod phantom was filled with Tc-99m and F-18 tracers in separated rods so that possible contamination between the PET and SPECT acquisitions can be evaluated. The rods are 0.9-2.3 mm in diameters and separated by roughly twice of the rod diameter. The ratio of activity concentration between the two tracers was close to 1:1. Since there is no corresponding simultaneous data acquisition mode available in the current system, PET and SPECT data were acquired successively with the same hardware setup and phantom position to mimic the simultaneous imaging. The rod images corresponding to PET and SPECT were well separated without severe artifacts. The data corrections, including LSO background and down-scatter from 511 keV photons to the SPECT acquisition were applied to the corresponding images. In addition, F-18 PET images of a phantom acquired with and without collimator reveal slight degradation in image quality due to the attenuation and extra data correction. Initial PET-SPECT dual-tracer mouse images were acquired and fused with mixed Tc-99m MDP and F-18 FDG injection. These studies have demonstrated the feasibility to acquire simultaneous PET-SPECT dual-tracer images with a microPET and a collimator insert.
Case Report: Pineocytoma in a Male Fischer 344 Rat

An enlarged pineal gland was observed in a 112-wk-old male Fischer 344 rat from the low-dose treatment group in a 2-yr bioassay. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of the gland were stained with hematoxylin and eosin along with the immunohistochcmical biomarkers synaptophysin, placental alkaline phosphatase, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and vimentin. Based on its histomorphological features and on positive staining with synaptophysin, the lesion was diagnosed as a malignant pineal gland parenchymal cell tumor or pineocytoma of incidental origin.
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy : Theoretical Developments

Series Preface. Dryden, "The Cream Cake Made Me Eat it": An Introduction to the ABC Theory of REBT. Ellis, Differentiating Preferential from Exaggerated and Musturbatory Beliefs in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. Robb, REBT: Thinking it Through Once More. Backx, REBT as an Intentional Therapy. Nielsen, How Deep Can We Go? How Deep Should We Go? Irrational Beliefs as Schemata. McMahon, Notes on Self and Values in REBT. David, Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT): The View of a Cognitive Psychologist. Doyle, The Contribution of Social Psychology to Rational Emotive Behaviour Theory. S. P. Kodish, B. I. Kodish, Contributions of General Semantics to REBT Theory: Evolutionary Psychology and Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. Pelusi, Theoretical Developments in REBT as Applied to Schizophrenia.
Digital systems design with ASIC and FPGA: a novel course using CD/DVD and on-line formats

A new course at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in digital systems design uses a novel approach of comparing ASIC and FPGA technologies, implementations, methodologies, CAD tools and trends. The course builds on basic courses in VLSI, HDL-based design and programmable logic but introduces the design of large-scale systems and the associated methodologies and tools. Recent advancements due to Moore's law have resulted in significant challenges in physical design, including interconnection, power consumption, reliability and verification. These challenges are explored at a fundamental level as well as solutions in modern CAD tools from Cadence, Synopsys, Xilinx and Altera. Both ASIC and FPGA solutions are explored and the economic, performance, power and flexibility tradeoffs are studied for each technology. The course was offered to undergraduates, graduates and engineers in industry through live, CD/DVD and on-line formats. The course is fully archived on CD/DVD and on the Web at: http://www.ecs. umass.edu/ece/vspgroup/burleson /courses/559/.
Maximum likelihood gradient based identification algorithm for output error systems with colored noises

This paper considers the parameter estimation problems of output error autoregressive (OEAR) systems based on the maximum likelihood principle and the gradient search principle. A maximum likelihood forgetting factor stochastic gradient algorithm and a maximum likelihood iterative gradient identification algorithm are developed. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithms can effectively estimate the parameters of the OEAR systems.
Acceptability of the POWERPLAY Program: A Workplace Health Promotion Intervention for Men

The workplace health promotion program, POWERPLAY, was developed, implemented, and comprehensively evaluated among men working in four male-dominated worksites in northern British Columbia, Canada. The purpose of this study was to explore the POWERPLAY program’s acceptability and gather recommendations for program refinement. The mixed-method study included end-of-program survey data collected from 103 male POWERPLAY program participants, interviews with workplace leads, and field notes recorded during program implementation. Data analyses involved descriptive statistics for quantitative data and inductive analysis of open-ended questions and qualitative data. Among participants, 70 (69%) reported being satisfied with the program, 51 (51%) perceived the program to be tailored for northern men, 56 (62%) believed the handouts provided useful information, and 75 (74%) would recommend this program to other men. The findings also highlight program implementation experiences with respect to employee engagement, feedback, and recommendations for future delivery. The POWERPLAY program provides an acceptable approach for health promotion that can serve as a model for advancing men’s health in other contexts.
On the fallacy of quantitative segmentation for T1-weighted MRI

T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) generates contrasts with primary sensitivity to local T1 properties (with lesser T2 and PD contributions). The observed signal intensity is determined by these local properties and the sequence parameters of the acquisition. In common practice, a range of acceptable parameters is used to ensure “similar” contrast across scanners used for any particular study (e.g., the ADNI standard MPRAGE). However, different studies may use different ranges of parameters and report the derived data as simply “T1-weighted”. Physics and imaging authors pay strong heed to the specifics of the imaging sequences, but image processing authors have historically been more lax. Herein, we consider three T1-weighted sequences acquired the same underlying protocol (MPRAGE) and vendor (Philips), but “normal study-to-study variation” in parameters. We show that the gray matter/white matter/cerebrospinal fluid contrast is subtly but systemically different between these images and yields systemically different measurements of brain volume. The problem derives from the visually apparent boundary shifts, which would also be seen by a human rater. We present and evaluate two solutions to produce consistent segmentation results across imaging protocols. First, we propose to acquire multiple sequences on a subset of the data and use the multi-modal imaging as atlases to segment target images any of the available sequences. Second (if additional imaging is not available), we propose to synthesize atlases of the target imaging sequence and use the synthesized atlases in place of atlas imaging data. Both approaches significantly improve consistency of target labeling.