Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Peak expiratory flow rate as a surrogate for forced expiratory volume in 1 second in COPD severity classification in Thailand

Background There are limited studies directly comparing correlation and agreement between peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) for severity classification of COPD. However, clarifying the role of PEFR as a surrogate of COPD severity classification instead of FEV1 is essential in situations and areas where spirometry is not routinely available. Purpose To evaluate the agreement between FEV1 and PEFR using Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) severity classification criteria. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study included stable COPD patients. Both absolute values and % predicted FEV1 and % predicted PEFR were obtained from the same patients at a single visit. The severity of COPD was classified according to GOLD criteria. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between FEV1 and PEFR. The agreement of % predicted FEV1 and % predicted PEFR in assigning severity categories was calculated using Kappa statistic, and identification of the limits of agreement was by Bland–Altman analysis. Statistical significance was set at P-value <0.05. Results Three hundred stable COPD patients were enrolled; 195 (65.0%) male, mean age 70.4±9.4 years, and mean % predicted FEV1 51.4±20.1. Both correlations between the % predicted FEV1 and PEFR as well as the absolute values were strongly significant (r=0.76, P<0.001 and r=0.87, P<0.001, respectively). However, severity categories of airflow limitation based on % predicted FEV1 or PEFR intervals were concordant in only 179 patients (59.7%). The Kappa statistic for agreement was 0.41 (95% confidence interval, 0.34–0.48), suggesting unsatisfied agreement. The calculated limits of agreement were wide (+27.1% to −28.9%). Conclusion Although the correlation between FEV1 and PEFR measurements were strongly significant, the agreement between the two tests was unsatisfied and may influence inappropriate clinical decision making in diagnosis, severity classification, and management of COPD.
HIV/AIDS activism, framing and identity formation in Mozambique's Equipas de Vida

This article ethnographically explores faith-based mobilization around HIV and AIDS in Mozambique. It explains mobilization strategies and their outcomes in the case of the community-based HIV response teams of the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Niassa in Northern Mozambique. Engaging constructivist perspectives from social movement theory, especially those focusing on framing processes and collective identities, this article illustrates how such perspectives can be used in the study of African settings and shows the complexity of motivations behind volunteerism. While church leaders stress biblical frames and community agency to motivate involvement, this article argues that these frames compete against dependency and diverging attitudes within culture at large towards volunteerism. The primary theological frame that church leaders use to mobilize the HIV-response teams focuses on compassion and facilitates the participation of volunteers from other faith perspectives.
The impact of word-of-mouth on book sales: review, blog or tweet?

This paper tries to study online word-of-mouth (WOM) effect from a holistic perspective. We associate 303 new-release books' sales data from Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, with WOM data from Amazon and Barnes &Noble reviews, Google Blog Search and Twitter.com. Our empirical results show that WOM of online reviews, blogs, and tweets have orthogonal impacts on book sales indicating incremental value of different types of online WOM.
The Factorial Structure of the Chinese Version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis

The factor structure of responses to the Chinese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (C-STAI) in a sample of 2150 Chinese secondary school students was examined using the LIS-REL approach to confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that a 3-factor model (State+, Calmness, and Happiness) and a 2-factor model (Trait+ and Trait-) could provide an adequate fit for the item responses to the A-State and A-Trait scales, respectively. When all item responses were included for analyses, it was found that while a 4-factor model (State+, State-, Trait+, and Trait-) was able to fit the data, a 5-factor model (State+, Calmness, Happiness, Trait+, and Trait-) was found to provide the best fit. The factorial structure of the C-STAI is discussed with reference to previous research findings and conceptual frame-works on the STAI.
How are eye fixation durations controlled during scene viewing? Further evidence from a scene onset delay paradigm

Recent research on eye movements during scene viewing has focused on where the eyes fixate. But eye fixations also differ in their durations. Here we investigated whether fixation durations in scene viewing are under the direct and immediate control of the current visual input. In two scene memorization and one visual search experiments, the scene was removed from view during critical fixations for a predetermined delay, and then restored following the delay. Experiment 1 compared filled (pattern mask) and unfilled (grey field) delays. Experiment 2 compared random to blocked delays. Experiment 3 extended the results to a visual search task. The results demonstrate that fixation durations in scene viewing comprise two fixation populations. One population remains relatively constant across delay, and the second population increases with scene onset delay. The results are consistent with a mixed eye movement control model that incorporates an autonomous control mechanism with process monitoring. The results suggest that a complete gaze control model will have to account for both fixation location and fixation duration.
Professions and professionals: Capturing the changing role of expertise through theoretical triangulation

Experts with a high level of specialized knowledge deliver manyimportant services, especially in the public sector. New Public Man-agement reforms have, however, challenged the entrenched role ofexpertise in public services (Clarke and Newman 1997; Exworthy andHalford 1999), and the classical sociology of professions has difﬁcultycapturing the changing role of expertise (Brint 1993: 3; Scott 2008:221). On the one hand, the introduction of a wide range of marketmechanisms has challenged the traditional logic of governing basedon expert authority. Instead, the role of micro-level institutions such asincentives has come to the fore. On the other hand, New PublicManagement reforms have occurred widely across different Europeancountries, thus highlighting the need to understand the relationshipsamong professional and public actors in different macro institutionalset-ups. We, therefore, discuss one approach that is concerned withmarket mechanisms and economic incentives (rational choice institu-tionalism) and another approach that focuses on the broader institu-tional context (institutionalist sociology of professions). The centralquestion in this article is how we can triangulate these two approachesin studies of how professional actors are governed and, thereby, adaptour theoretical tools to the changed context of expertise. How pro-fessional actors are governed (understood as both how others governprofessional actors and how professional actors govern themselves) isan important question: professionalized services such as medicine andteaching are vital for individual citizens, and professional actors playa key role for these services in terms of both quality and costs.
Science Education Impacts on Labor Market and University Expectations of Students by Citizenship Status in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Comparative Analysis Using TIMSS 2007 Data

This study comparatively examines the impact of students' citizenship status on science education relative to labor market and university expectations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Specifically, the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provides science education teaching, learning and achievement data from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and each of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Bahrain, Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. Evidence suggests that the science knowledge and skills taught and learned in Saudi and other GCC schools contribute to the human capital of the students as future labor market participants and impact their future opportunity expectations relative to science. However, the results show that expectations and understanding of the labor market and university needs differ by students' national and non-national citizenship status in Saudi Arabia, in particular.
Green-Fluorescent Protein+ Astrocytes Attach to Beta-Amyloid Plaques in an Alzheimer Mouse Model and Are Sensitive for Clasmatodendrosis

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is pathologically characterized by beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and Tau pathology. It is well-established that Aβ plaques are surrounded by reactive astrocytes, highly expressing glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). In order to study the cellular interaction of reactive astrocytes with Aβ plaques, we crossbred mice overexpressing amyloid precursor protein (APP) with the Swedish-Dutch-Iowa mutations (APP-SweDI) with mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the GFAP-promotor. Three-dimensional confocal microscopy revealed a tight association and intense sprouting of astrocytic finely branched processes towards Aβ plaques in 12 month old mice. In order to study phagocytosis, 110 μm thick brain slices from 12 month old crossbred mice were cultured overnight, however, we found that the GFP fluorescence faded, distal processes degenerated and a complete loss of astrocytic morphology was seen (clasmatodendrosis). In summary, our data show that GFP+ reactive astrocytes make intense contact with Aβ plaques but these cells are highly vulnerable for degeneration.
Patterns of Social Control in Assessment Practices in Canadian Frameworks for Accountability in Education

This article identifies institutional patterns and modes of social control evident in assessment practices across the evaluative contexts in Canada's 10 provinces and two territories. Emergent patterns show loose linkage of provincial-level direction with classroom practice, but also assessment as an instrument of normative control, arm's-length oversight promoting system learning, and enhanced accountability and professional autonomy through process evaluation. These emergent institutional patterns suggest that assessment has become a very political and visible part of educational reform in all provinces. Despite strong provincial control over education, there is also clear evidence of a growing national agenda for accountability. Assessment has come to play an equally critical role in the provision for individual and systemic control in many educational policy frameworks. The institutional paterns reflected in changed roles, organizational forms, and technologies associated with new assessment strategies have created an intensified climate of accountability in Canadian education.
A Suggestion of Fuzzy Estimation Technique for Uncertainty Estimation of Linear Time Invariant System Based on Kalman Filter

In order to control a LTI(Linear Time Invariant) system subjected to system noise and measurement noise, first of all, it is necessary to estimate the state of system with reliability. Kalman filtering technique has been widely used to estimate the state of the stochastic LTI system with stationary noise characteristics because of its estimation ability versus algorithm simplicity. However, it often fails to estimate the state of the LTI system of which system parameter uncertainty exists partly and/or input uncertainty exists. In this paper, a new estimation technique based on Kalman filter is suggested for stochastic LTI system under parameter uncertainty and/or input uncertainty. A fuzzy estimation algorithm against uncertainties is introduced so as to compensate the state estimate filtered by Kalman filter. In order to verify the state estimation performance of the suggested technique, several simulations are accomplished.
Histograms of Categorized Shapes for 3D ear detection

We introduce a novel shape-based feature set, termed the Histograms of Categorized Shapes (HCS), for robust Three-Dimensional (3D) object recognition. By adopting the sliding window approach and a linear Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier, the efficacy of the HCS feature is assessed on a 3D ear detection task. Experimental results demonstrate that the approach achieves a perfect detection rate, i.e., a 100% detection rate with a 0% false positive rate, on a validation set consisting of 142 range profile images from the University of Notre Dame (UND) 3D ear biometrics database. It is to the best of our knowledge that the detection rate achieved here outperforms those reported in the literature for the given dataset. The proposed detector is also extremely efficient in both training and detection due to the simplicity of the feature extraction and speed of the classification process, suggesting that the method is suitable for practical use in 3D ear biométrie applications.
Bayesian analysis in inverse problems

Considers some statistical aspects of inverse problems, using Bayesian analysis, particularly estimation and hypothesis-testing questions for parameter-dependent differential equations. The author relates Bayesian maximum likelihood to Tikhonov regularization and applies the expectation-minimization algorithm to the problem of setting regularization levels. Further, he compares Bayesian results with those of a classical statistical approach, through consistency and asymptotic normality. A numerical example illustrates the application of Bayesian techniques. In many cases one is interested in parameters which are infinite dimensional (e.g. functions). Bayesian techniques offer a sound theoretical and computational paradigm, through probability measures on Banach space. He develops a framework for infinite dimensional Bayesian analysis, including convergence of approximations required to perform inference tasks computationally.
"Leadership Views on Corporate Chaplains: Business, Socio-Cultural, and Spiritual Justifications"

Spirituality in the workplace continues to garner growing scholarly and popular attention as evidenced by increased interdisciplinary scholarship, media reports, corporate interest, and employee activity. Workplace chaplaincy, an expression of the faith at work movement has received attention from media and practitioners; however, there remains a dearth of scholarly research. This paper, part of a wider study on workplace chaplaincy, fills that scholarly void by explicating the business reasoning, sociocultural explanations, and spiritual imperatives behind organizational leaders’ decisions to incorporate workplace chaplains into their employee benefit programs. Through interviews with CEOs and C-Suite leaders, this study found that workplace chaplains offer a unique kind of care for employees’ otherwise unmet in other benefit programs, and appears to contribute positively to organizational commitment, employee well-being, reduced operational costs, reduced turnover/increased retention, and an overall pos.
GRB hosts through cosmic time - VLT/X-Shooter emission-line spectroscopy of 96 γ-ray-burst-selected galaxies at 0.1

We present data and initial results from VLT/X-Shooter emission-line spectroscopy of 96 galaxies selected by long γ-ray bursts (GRBs) at 0.1 2 by ~0.4 dex. These properties of GRB hosts and their evolution with redshift can be understood in a cosmological context of star-forming galaxies and a picture in which the hosts’ properties at low redshift are influenced by the tendency of GRBs to avoid the most metal-rich environments.
Placement-Driven Partitioning for Congestion Mitigation in Monolithic 3D IC Designs

Monolithic 3D (M3D) is an emerging technology that enables integration density which is orders of magnitude higher than that offered by through-silicon-vias. In this paper, we demonstrate that a modified 2D placement technique coupled with a post-placement partitioning step is sufficient to produce high-quality M3D placement solutions. We also present a commercial router-based monolithic intertier via insertion methodology that improves the routability of M3D ICs. We demonstrate that, unlike in 2D ICs, the routing supply and demand in M3D ICs are not completely independent of each other. We develop a routing demand model for M3D ICs, and use it to develop an O(N) min-overflow partitioner that enhances routability by off-loading demand from one tier to another. This technique reduces the routed wirelength and the power delay product by up to 7.44% and 4.31%, respectively. This allows a two-tier M3D IC to achieve, on average, 19.9% and 11.8% improvement in routed wirelength and power delay product over 2D, even with reduced metal layer usage.
Potential Productivity of ICT in a Democratic Environment: Investigation Panel Data

The interest of this paper is to identify the impact of ICT diffusion and the nature of the political regime on growth and the contribution of the synergy between digital technology and a democratic environment and the effectiveness of legal an economy. At this level, we are dealing with an empirical study using panel data for a group of 32 countries organized in two sub-samples, democratic and non-democratic during the period 1994-2011. The analysis need to include in the model of Solow founder, economic variables, institutional and interaction. The results suggest that efficiency in ICT adoption can be explained by a simultaneous game of three categories of factors: long time like a major technological change, such as a medium-term investment boom and quotas as a number of favorable circumstances. The quality of political and governmental institutions may enroll in fact in part contingent factors are favorable paving the way for ICT to generate its economic benefits.
Cuff electrodes for long-term recording of natural sensory information

Cuff electrodes for recording of the electro-neurogram from peripheral nerves were introduced by Hoffer [1974] and Stein, et al. [1975]. The cuffs were used to obtain higher signal amplitudes than previously possible, at least in chronic recordings, and to decrease the pick-up of noise, especially from muscles. Cuff electrodes are relatively stable in long-term recordings, but the stability has never been quantified in terms of input-output relationships; i.e., in terms of responses to repeatable stimuli over time. Moreover. The relationship between nerve damage and electrophysiological parameters has never been assessed. In this article, after reviewing the development of cuff electrodes and their applications, we present a long-term study of tactile peripheral nerve signals, electrically activated nerve signals, and impedance measurements. We show how the recordings vary over a 16-month period after implantation of nerve cuff electrodes in rabbits, and how nerve damage is reflected in the recorded signals.
Assessing and comparing physical environments for nursing home residents: using new tools for greater research specificity.

PURPOSE We developed and tested theoretically derived procedures to observe physical environments experienced by nursing home residents at three nested levels: their rooms, the nursing unit, and the overall facility. Illustrating with selected descriptive results, in this article we discuss the development of the approach. DESIGN AND METHODS On the basis of published literature, existing instruments, and expert opinion about environmental elements that might affect quality of life, we developed separate observational checklists for the room and bath environment, unit environment, and facility environment. We trained 40 interviewers without specialized design experience to high interrater reliability with the room-level assessment. We used the three checklists to assess 1,988 resident room and bath environments, 131 nursing units, and 40 facilities in five states. From the data elements, we developed quantitative indices to describe the facilities according to environmentally relevant constructs such as function-enhancing features, life-enriching features, resident environmental controls, and personalization. RESULTS We reliably gathered data on a large number of environmental items at three environmental levels. Environments varied within and across facilities, and we noted many environmental deficits potentially relevant to resident quality of life. IMPLICATIONS This research permits resident-specific data collection on physical environments and resident-level research using hierarchical analysis to examine the effects of specific environmental constellations. We describe practice and research implications for this approach.
Is Selective Attention in Anxiety Characterised by Biased Attentional Engagement with or Disengagement from Threat: Evidence from a Colour-Naming Paradigm

There has been considerable recent interest in identifying which specific processes characterize the widely observed anxiety-linked attentional preference for negative information. Two tasks, the emotional Stroop and the attentional probe, have been consistently employed to assess selective attention. However, until now, research designed to distinguished biased attentional engagement with, and disengagement from negative information has almost exclusively employed attentional probe task variants. To identify which of these attentional processes underpin the traditional emotional Stroop effect we developed a variant of the emotional Stroop capable of differentiating these two aspects of attentional selectivity. To assess biased attentional engagement with emotional word meanings, trials required participants to process the colour of a letter string before then measuring their speed to switch attention to its semantic content. To assess biased attentional disengagement from emotional word meanings, trials required participants to process the semantic content of a letter string before then measuring their speed to switch attention to process its colour. Our results indicate that the pattern of effects observed on the traditional emotional Stroop task are likely due to enhanced attentional engagement with the semantic content of negative stimuli, but not by impaired attentional disengagement from such negative semantic content.